Spark of Lightning
by Mockingjay272
Summary: Cynical. That's always been the word Kate has used to describe herself in the past. She always knew that true love existed, but she never believed that she'd ever crave it... Until a certain nomad came into her life and lit her entire world on fire. Combination of book- and movieverse, during and after BD.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yes, after months of being gone, I'm back, and I'm back with what I personally think is the single best thing I've ever written. I did this over winter break, and just finished editing for y'all. So, first and foremost, there is a big change that I made from Ms. Meyer's universe: vampires can have children. When I saw Breaking Dawn Part 2, the parts with Rosalie and Nessie, my heart completely broke for her. So I decided I'd enable her to have children, and let all the other vampires have children. Here's the catch... Vampires are limited to two children, and there's a big difference between them and the immortal children. The vampire children have a distinctive crecsent in the middle of their foreheads, closely resembling Jasper's scars. This indicates that their parent's haven't bitten them yet. That's when the vampire children stop growing. Their biological parents bite them, and then they are fully vampires. Nessie, of course, doesn't have this mark, so Irina is led to believe she is an immortal child. In this story, Edward and Emmett are Esme's and Carlisle's biological children, while the other's stories are practically unchanged. Further explanation will be given in the story.**

**I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I'm not in the mood for a witty disclaimer today.**

**~Mock**

* * *

I sat in the front seat of the black Mercedes, which was not unlike Carlisle's, staring out the window. The countryside that flew by would have been an indistinctive blur to any human, but my golden eyes could have seen every speck of dust in the air as we flew by if I cared enough to concentrate. As it was, there were certain details that snared my vision. A tree bent in half from the weight of the ice it carried on its branches. The way the dominant color changed from white to green as Forks grew ever closer, the snow becoming much less dense. And the angry marks of a car, veered of course, smashing into another, some 25 miles away from us, on another road entirely. Even from that distance, it wasn't enough to stop the smell of fresh blood as it seeped its sweet scent into the car.

But Tanya kept on driving. We all would have, Carmen, Eleazar, and I, had we been the ones controlling the vehicle. Human blood didn't tempt us the way it did to most vampires. Tanya and I were old, older than Carlisle even, and we'd had centuries to perfect our immunity to the smell of human blood. Ever since the horrible violence we saw when the Volturi burned our mother and little Vasilii, just minutes before we had gotten to know him, and after we found that tempting men and drinking their blood didn't kill the pain, Tanya, Irina, and I had vowed to never drink of a human's blood again. Vasilii had destroyed an entire village in his desperation to escape the clutches of the Volturi. I could still see the scene burning behind my eyes.

_Sasha, out mother, seemed terrified as she came into the small house in the village we were staying in, though only temporarily. We frequently moved from village to village in northern Europe. Avoiding too much attention was a must. _

"_Tanya, Irina, Kate, pick up your things, quick," she said. Not much after that was comprehendible. She kept muttering things under her breath, as though she forgot we could hear every word. "They're coming for him," she said over and over again. Tanya, Irina and I exchanged nervous glances. None of us had even the slightest inclination as to who the mysterious "him" might be. Our few belongings, just spare changes of clothes, were stuffed into our packs in record time, but it still wasn't fast enough. _

_Screams, human screams had split the air. The air soon filled with the thick, intoxicating scent of hot blood. My vampiric instincts almost took over, and I was tempted to run out into the bloodbath and feed from the delicious feast. But three things hindered me. One was the fearful look on my mother's face, the way she seemed to scream with her eyes that we must stay where we were. Another was the faint but clear scent of other vampires. I didn't recognize who these vampires might be, but there was an awful feeling in my gut that it wouldn't bode well if I did. And third was the childlike cry coming from the middle of the fray. "Mama! Mama!" _

"_Girls, stay here. Whatever happens, know that I love you!" Sasha said as she ran from our hut. I was desperate to run after her and find out what was going on, and I could tell that Tanya and Irina were too, but before we made up our minds about what course of action we were going to take, strange arms grabbed each of us from the hut and pushed us outside. _

_I had never been more terrified than in that moment. I attempted to twist my hands and shock whoever it was holding me, but I was no longer a newborn, and the stranger was clearly stronger than I was. I could hear my sisters struggling beside me, but none of us proved victorious in our attempts to free ourselves._

_When we were outside, the three people holding us forced us down on our knees, with our arms pulled behind our backs, not hard enough to pull them off quite yet, but with enough force applied to make sure we knew that one false move would result in our deaths. _

_Sasha was in front of us, and for some inexplicable reason, a small child of about two was cradled in her arms. There were three more vampires standing near her, along with the ones restraining Tanya, Irina, and I._

_But the scene that captured the majority of my attention was the massacre behind Sasha. The remains of humans, half drained of blood, were strewn around in a disorderly, random order. I had grown accustomed and even enjoyed the taste of blood, but the sight before me was more than sickening. I'm sure that if I still had the ability, I would have thrown up._

"_Dearest Sasha," one of the strange vampires said. His voice was light and feathery, higher than even the sweet soprano voice of Tanya. His hair was long and black, and what I could see of his hands, I was surprised to find that it seemed flimsy, almost papery. So why was my mother cowering before him like an abused woman before her husband? _

"_You have caused much pain," the voice continued. "Look behind you. Look at what violence has been wrought here, all because of small Vasilii. Why would you change him at so young an age? You must have known the consequences Sasha. You must have known you could not escape the inevitable." _

"_And the other three," a second voice said, this one coming from a vampire with startling white hair. "The other three must be punished with their creator." It took me a few seconds before I realized the white haired vampire was referring to my sisters and I. _

"_Patience. There is no need to be hasty dear Caius," the first vampire said again. "Be rest assured that I will examine the minds of these three young ones. Then we shall pass judgment based on their knowledge of Vasilii."_

"_But there will definitely be punishment for the mother?" the vampire called Caius pressed. _

"_Oh, yes. All the proof we need is in her hands and in her memories," the other vampire said. "Before we deliver justice however, I would love to examine the minds of these lovely women we have with us today." And with that, we turned so that we could see his face._

_There was no doubt that he was an immortal. Even with his papery skin, there was a sort of frail beauty to the elfish features of his face. His eyes were a deep burgundy, as was the norm for our kind. The other two looked as if they could be related to him, with a few noticeable differences. Caius's face had a harder look to it, and of course there was the difference in the hair color. And the last one, who also had black hair, had an unmistakable look of immense sadness in his eyes._

_The first vampire, who seemed to be the leader, was the one who addressed us. "My dears, do you know who I am?" he asked us. As one, Tanya, Irina, and I shook our heads, voices choked up in fear._

"_My name is Aro," Aro said, and I was thankful I couldn't detect any trace of malice when we had not known his identity. "There are my brothers, Caius and Marcus." The other two vampires were indicated._

"_We are known as the Volturi. We found it our solemn duty to see to it that the secret of vampires was carried out by all of our kind on earth. It cannot be common knowledge among the humans that vampires do indeed exist. There would be no greater disaster." Aro chuckled lightly. "One of the most recent phenomenon's that we have discovered is that of the immortal children. These children cause destruction and violence wherever they go. And I am most saddened to tell you that your mother has made one of these immortal children."_

_Aro gestured behind him, where my mother was still cowering in fear. 'Run!' I wanted to scream at her. 'Quick! Go! Now!' _

_But before I could plead with our mother with my eyes, Aro turned his attention back to us. "Now, my sweet girls, I have a very special gift, much like dear Kate has a supernatural talent." My eyes widened when he said this; how did he know? Moreover, I didn't recall ever telling him my name. _

_Perhaps Aro saw the confusion in mine and my sister's eyes, because he laughed. "There is nothing to fear from my gift," he reassured us. "It is not even painful like Kate's is. My gift is that if I touch you, I will be able to read every thought you have ever harbored. I only wish to know whether or not you had knowledge about this immortal child. I do not believe you did, but certain, ah, protocol must be followed. All I need is your permission to see your thoughts, and I am confident that you shall be able to leave here peacefully."_

_I saw Tanya glance toward Sasha at the end of Aro's speech. After a moment's hesitation, Irina and I too looked to her for guidance, though her betrayal was screaming at me in my head. How could she have done this to us? If these little children were illegal, why would she make one? Was she going to be taken away, to leave us forever?_

_Sasha, however, gave a barely perceptible nod of the head. We knew that she was condoning whatever Aro was about to do to us. Perhaps that was how he had known my name and what my special gift was. Perhaps he had simply read her thoughts._

_Tanya was the first to concede. Hesitantly, she stretched her hand out towards Aro. Gleefully, he accepted it, taking her hand into both of his own. _

_They stood there for a few agonizingly silent minutes. I searched signs from Tanya's face that might give any indication Aro had lied and was hurting her, but I found none. After he released her hands, he smiled even wider. _

"_Our friend Tanya is free of guilt!" he pronounced. Quickly, he moved so that he was standing in front of Irina. He repeated the same process with her, and also declared her free of guilt. Finally, he moved on to me._

"_Dearest Kate," he breathed, looking almost… hungry in front of me. I was immediately put on guard, and attempted to move my face back from his. "Felix, if you could release her arms," Aro said in a gentle yet commanding voice, and I felt the strong vampire drop my arms. I still wasn't sure if I could trust Aro or not, and debated on whether or not to shock him, but he put his hands on my wrist instead of my hand like he had Tanya and Irina. I could only generate my shock from my palms._

_I really couldn't tell if Aro was using his gift or not, but the look of concentration on his face led me to believe he was. As with Tanya and Irina, when he released my wrists, his face got that inexplicable joyous look on it, and then addressed Caius and Marcus._

"_I have searched the minds of these three young vampires, and I can give affirmation that they knew nothing of this immortal child. They are free of guilt," Aro finished, giving Caius a particularly stern look as Caius opened his mouth, seemingly in protestation. Caius however, nodded, though he still looked livid. _

"_Before we proceed," Aro said, his voice taking on a sing-song-like quality, "I have a question I must ask friend Kate." He moved so he was in front of me again. "I have seen what your gift is," he breathed. "I would very much love to watch that gift grow and see how you progress with it in the future. You could have a very valuable place among the Volturi guard, dearest Kate. And I would personally work with you to help you develop your ability to the fullest potential."_

_This time, I looked him dead in the eye. I was terrified of everything that was going on, and I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my sisters or my mother, although I had a horrible feeling about what Aro and Caius meant when they mentioned punishment. _

"_Gracious Aro," I started cautiously, "I recognize the generosity of your offer, and I am most humbled by it. However, I could not leave my sisters. Perhaps, later in time, I shall reconsider your offer." Aro seemed genuinely heartbroken, as though my refusal would be the death of him, but he said that I would always have a place in the guard if I so chose to accept. _

_Then Aro snapped his fingers again, and suddenly, the vampire named Felix had grabbed my arms again, making sure to avoid my palms. Two other vampires, Demetri and Santiago I had heard Aro call them, grabbed Tanya and Irina respectively. Aro gave us a sad look. "I'm sorry my dears, but I cannot have you going berserk as we deliver the punishment. I know that it will be difficult for you to watch."_

_Ever so slowly, Aro turned back to Sasha, who was still clutching Vasilii in her arms. "Sasha, Sasha, why would you do such a thing?" Aro asked. "You know the consequences. Just look at when the child has done. Destroyed an entire village in a mindless rampage. There can be no forgiveness for a crime such as this. Yes, I know your odd reasoning for creating such an abomination. You were drawn to an immortal child you had met and wanted your own. That cannot excuse the obvious violence and pain that has been wrought through your actions. And now you must pay the price."_

_Two more vampires moved to either side of Sasha, and a female grabbed Vasilii from her arms. Aro moved to stand behind her, and grasped her head between his hands. "Girls, I'm so sorry," Sasha whispered right as Aro ripped her head off and threw it into a fire that was behind us. _

_Endless rage stormed through my head. I tried desperately to get away from Felix, but he was well trained and I could barely move two feet. I screamed with mindless rage, and I could hear Tanya and Irina doing the same. "Mother! Mother!" we shouted over and over again. But all our efforts were for naught, and I was forced to watch as Sasha, with Vasilii right behind her, were consumed by the ravenous flames. _

_When the deed was done, Aro had Felix, Demetri, and Santiago constrain my sisters and I for a while longer before he felt secure enough to let us go. "I am most sorry, my dear friends. Perhaps, in time, we can look past this unfortunate incident and be the closest of friends. Tanya, Irina, Kate. I wish all the happiness unto you." With that, he took his leave. And I learned the meaning of heartbreak._

I blinked my eyes, unsure of why I had chosen today to relive my mother's last moments. I usually tried to avoid thinking of her at all. It was still too painful to dwell on. I still hadn't forgiven her for creating Vasilii after all these years, because she must have known she would get caught. I knew Tanya and Irina hadn't forgiven her either.

Irina. It was painful to think of her too. She was going through such a difficult time right now, trying to come to terms with the Cullen's involvement with the werewolves, who had killed Laurent. It was my belief that if Laurent had stayed with us just a while longer, Irina and he would have truly become full-fledged mates. I wished she would let Tanya and I help her, but alas, she had gone off on her own. I was confident she would return to us in time, and I yearned for that day to come quickly. Our family wasn't complete without Irina.

Tanya pulled into the drive of the Cullen's just a few minutes later, where we learned of the half-immortal child, Renesmee. I could initially see why Irina had gone to the Volturi; we were all strict believers in the law, but after a while, I thought her behavior incredulous. Yes, I could see how Renesmee could be taken an immortal child from a distance without her mark upon her forehead, but these were the Cullen's. These were our family. And we already owed them for not fighting with them against the army of newborns.

I only listened half-heatedly as Eleazar and Edward explained the intricacies of the Volturi guard to Bella. After Aro had visited us and killed our mother, I had vowed to never join them, no matter how much Aro wanted my gift. Yes, I would follow the law immaculately, but I wouldn't join them. Besides, they had Jane, who could create pain from a distance. Why would they ever need me?

After I promised to help Bella expand her gift, Tanya and I retreated upstairs. The Cullen's had a plethora of spare rooms. Good thing too, if all the witnesses they planned to gather actually came. No, we didn't sleep, but even vampires needed their own space sometimes. With so many coming, arguments could very easily break out. Edward and Bella were lucky to have their own house.

I looked around the bare room, and caught my reflection in a small mirror. My eyes were black as night. Until then, I had barely even noticed the hunger clawing at my throat. I hissed softly, which Tanya, of course, noticed.

"Let's go hunting," she said simply, a bit of a wicked gleam in her eyes. Tanya, Irina, and I loved to compete with each other to see who could get the biggest kill. None of us could constantly outdo the others. We all had our advantages. I was the fastest, Tanya was the stealthiest, and Irina was the strongest. Each was trait essential, and together, we were an unstoppable trio.

As we went downstairs, Tanya quickly explained to Edward where we were going, and then we took off, sprinting towards the woods. My favorite was Canadian lynx, but we obviously weren't going to see any here, so far down south. Elk and maybe a mountain lion would have to do.

It wasn't long before Tanya and I caught the scent of a herd of elk. Just a couple seconds of more running led us a clearing where they were drinking from a small pond. I scrambled up a tree, and then jumped onto the biggest buck that I could see. He was helpless as I sunk my teeth into his neck and finished him off quickly.

Three deer later, and I was sated. Tanya finished about that same time as me, and then we took in the size of our kills.

"I win!" she announced gleefully when it was apparent she had taken down the biggest one. I rolled by eyes at her at her enthusiasm, but that was Tanya. She had a much bubblier personality than I did. Tanya's bubbliness, Irina's sweetness, and my sarcastic, cynical personality balanced each other out. But right now, Irina was missing. Tanya and I were only two parts to one whole. I would be only too glad when this was over, and she would hopefully be back home in Denali, where she belonged.

We ran back to the Cullen's house, where we met another two vampires, whose names were Peter and Charlotte. They told us that Alice and Jasper had sent them, and we all clamored for any news of our two missing cousins. But they couldn't tell us much, just that Alice and Jasper appeared to be in fine health. Neither Peter nor Charlotte had any indication of where Alice and Jasper might be going. It annoyed me slightly, but I knew there had to have been a reason why Alice left. There just had to be.


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next couple of days, more and more vampires came, and Carlisle and Esme returned to us. Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, and I had been ecstatic and talked to them for hours. They both doted on Renesmee, but they were worried. Who wouldn't be? There were so many unknowns, so many different outcomes that we could be venturing into. At this point, nothing was certain.

But Renesmee soon had each of us under her spell. It turned out she was much like the vampire children. She learned quickly and was eager to please. Nothing like my brief but clear memories of Vasilii. Renesmee wasn't even tempted by human blood like the rest of us had struggled with for years to overcome. Her heart was filled with love and compassion. While Edward and Bella might have been prominent in her features, her inner personality was a unique mix of Carlisle and Esme. She was truly the sweetest person I had ever met, and even under these trying circumstances, I couldn't resist getting to know Nessie as well as I could. But as much as I loved Nessie, she brought to light a desire that I had buried so deeply inside I had almost forgotten it was there.

I wanted children. I wanted children badly. I wanted to be a mother. Yes, Tanya might joke about the two of us falling in love, and I would always roll my eyes, pretending that I didn't believe it was going to happen for me and that I was alright with that outcome. If I was being truthful with myself, I desperately wanted to find a mate and have children with him. After I saw how happy Laurent had made Irina and how destroyed she had been when he left her, my longing was hindered temporarily, but I was convinced that he would have come to her if the wolves hadn't killed him. Not that I blamed them. They wanted to preserve human life, and they knew vampires killed for food. But I could never completely forgive them for ruining my sister. How I wanted someone who made me as happy as Laurent made Irina, who wouldn't leave me! But I was terrified to love, ever. Letting people in was a weakness, Irina had proved that with Laurent.

I was watching Nessie with Jacob, thinking of how much I wanted children and the conflicting thoughts that always came with that topic when _he_ came.

He was the first nomad Rosalie and Emmett had found. Rosalie and Emmett had had a harder job than Carlisle and Esme. The latter had known just where to look for their friends. Rose and Emmett had to do a fair bit of searching, and they were hindered slightly by Rose's pregnancy. But they had found him.

The first thing I noticed was how tall he was. He had unruly brown hair that fell of his shoulders, and short, coarse stubble around his mouth, which seemed permanently set into a devilish grin. He loved an adventure, no doubt. His eyes were deep ruby, much in contrast to my bright golden ones, but that didn't matter. He was the most beautiful man, human or immortal, that I had ever seen.

Carlisle joyfully greeted him, and then Edward and Bella cautiously led Nessie over to him. He didn't freak out like our family had, but I just assumed he had never seen an immortal child before. He listened intently as Carlisle and Edward explained the situation to him, and allowed Nessie to touch him and show him her thoughts.

During this process, I had subconsciously started moving closer to the stranger. Tanya had noticed me, and she came to my side.

"Seen something you like?" she asked with mock innocence, whilst wearing a smile that told me she had seen everything and knew exactly what I was thinking about. I rolled my eyes at her, but didn't bother with a response. Tanya would take anything I said and use it against me at some point in the future, even if it was just to tease me years later.

"Well don't just stand there!" Tanya exclaimed. "Go up to him! Introduce yourself!" I simply stared back at her with my brows furrowed and a skeptical expression on my face. Tanya sighed loudly and dramatically. "Fine. I'll do it then," she said, and then took my arm. I allowed myself to be dragged over, but only because I knew it would cause a scene and look very odd indeed if I struggled.

"Carlisle, Esme, Kate and I just wanted to inform you that we were going hunting," Tanya said, ever the actress. Well, I guess I could count on her not to embarrass me just then, if she was going to put an act up, which I was grateful for. Carlisle nodded in acknowledgement, but before we could go, he introduced us to the stranger, just like Tanya knew he would.

"Garrett, this is Tanya, and this is Kate," Carlisle said, indicating Tanya and I in turn. "They're our cousins from Denali, up in Alaska. Tanya, Kate, this is Garrett. He's a nomad that I met around 200 years ago, and he's been a loyal friend ever since."

"Pleasure to meet you," Garrett said in a deep voice that nearly sent me over the edge. _And I thought he couldn't get more beautiful, _I thought to myself. I heard a light chuckle behind me. Edward had obviously been listening to me. I turned toward him and glared.

"Stay out of my head, Edward," I complained lightly. Edward, Tanya, Carlisle, Esme, and Garrett all laughed at that; we had all felt the same way at some point before. Edward came to join our conversation.

"Watch out for these two, Garrett," Edward said, clapping Garrett on the shoulder in greeting. "These are the most devious sisters I've ever met. I'm just glad Alice isn't their sister as well. Then the whole world would have cause to fear. Three of the craziest vampires in existence, all plotting together." All who heard laughed, save for Tanya and I, who just smiled widely back, affirming Edward's words. It was true, not many could withstand all of the Denali sisters. We were a difficult bunch to tackle. The legend of the succubus wasn't based off of us without reason.

"No, it most certainly wasn't," Edward muttered. I glared at him again, and debated shocking him lightly, but decided against it. But of course, everyone else wanted to know what I had been thinking. Edward explained how Tanya, Irina, and I had been the originators of the succubus. Tanya rolled her eyes when he was done.

"You're wrong, just like everybody else," Tanya sighed. "We never had sex with any of those men, thank you very much. They'd have snapped in half before long, and besides, we weren't as controlled back then. We couldn't have made it that long before we drank of them. We just put on a pretty face for them so they'd come with us without question, take it far enough so they would believe they'd get what they wanted, and then we would eat them. And that was before Edward. We don't do that anymore, as you fully know."

"I know you don't Tanya," Edward said. "You've been vegetarians longer than Carlisle's been alive. Impressive, we all know. I merely wanted to warn Garrett to be on his guard. You're still a dangerous little bunch." Tanya laughed. "I'll give you that one, Edward," she chuckled. "You probably should watch out for us, Garrett. Especially Kate here. She's worse than I am."

"Oh, I don't know," Garrett teased. "I do love a challenge." He stared right at me when he said that, and I stared right back. There was no way I was backing down before he did. And his eyes were colored to be such a deep ruby, I could almost feel myself getting lost in them. Somehow, they were different from the countless other vampires who drank from humans. Tanya, of course, was the quickest to notice my fascination, and I could almost feel her success radiating from her. I didn't have to have Edward's talent to know what my sister was thinking.

"Anyway, Tanya, Kate, didn't you need to hunt?" Esme asked, breaking my eye contact with Garrett.

"You go, Tanya," I said. "I'm not really thirsty. But you obviously can't wait much longer. You're eyes are almost black." It was all true. My eyes were much lighter in comparison. I had hunted the day before with Carmen and Eleazar, while Tanya had stayed behind to talk to Edward, Bella, and Nessie.

Tanya pouted. "Oh, Kate, you know I don't like hunting alone, and Carmen and Eleazar don't want to go." Oh, now I knew where she was going with this. I could either go with her, and she's be furious with me for it, or I could argue, indicating I'd rather spend time with Garrett (seeing as I'd changed my mind after we had met him). I weighed my options quickly and carefully, and decided Tanya's anger was the worst option.

"No really, Tanya, I'm just not thirsty. Why don't you ask Edward, Bella, and Nessie to go with you?"

"Actually, I'm supposed to give Nessie piano lessons soon, and Bella wants to be there for that," Edward said, politely declining.

"We'll go with you, Tanya," Carlisle said. "Esme and I haven't hunted for a few days. It's best we replenish now rather than later. We don't know exactly when, or if, we're going to have to be prepared to fight." Tanya left with Carlisle and Esme just a couple seconds later, and Edward too, went down to the other side of the Cullen's living room to the piano, where Nessie and Bella waited for him. I saw Bella give him a chaste, but sweet, kiss, and felt that pang of jealousy for what they had in my stomach, which was becoming much too familiar. I was also acutely aware of how this left me essentially alone with Garrett. Yes, we were in a room full of other vampires, but none of them were paying any attention to us. Garrett leaned his hand against the wall I was standing up against, sending a clear message that he wanted to continue our conversation, but his arm was on the side away from the rest of the room, which meant I could easily leave if I wanted to. This made the gesture friendly instead of possessive, which I was almost annoyed with. So far, there was nothing this vampire did that I hadn't found perfect.

"You and your sister are the first vegetarian's I've met since Carlisle," he said. "How do you do it?" he asked, never losing that playful grin. I laughed before responding.

"Once you get used to it, it's not hard at all," I said. "Carmen and Eleazar are vegetarians too; you'll meet them later. Really, if you just have the right conviction not to drink human blood anymore, it's very easy to adapt to. And my sisters and I had the conviction. You heard Tanya talking about us being the succubus. After a while, it just didn't kill the pain we'd been trying to get rid of, and it became very depressing. Tanya was out one day, desperately thirsty, but before she came upon someone she wanted to feed from, she found a wolf in her path. It attacked her, but of course Tanya was stronger. She sunk her teeth into its neck and began to drink from it, and it sated her. She was elated when she came back to tell us, and Irina and I immediately wanted to try it. So we did, and we've been this way ever since."

"Why were you in such pain?" Garrett asked in a low voice. I went back over my words quickly, and indeed found where I had slipped up. However, I wasn't going to let Garrett see my moment of panic. I simply smiled at him sweetly, much like Tanya and I had earlier.

"Well, I think that's my own business, don't you?" I asked, raising my voice to a slightly higher octave. Garrett's own smile became wider, but before he could say anything, we were interrupted by a high peel of laughter, which I instantly knew belonged to Renesmee.

"She's one of a kind, that girl," Garrett said. I nodded in agreement.

"She's different, that's for sure. I don't know if the Volturi are going to stop though, especially because she doesn't have a crescent. But she acts so much like the vampire children, as opposed to the immortal ones. That was evident almost right away, after we had regained our senses." I saw Garrett's eyebrows raise up in question, and I laughed lightly. "Oh, our coven had a bit of a scare when we first saw her. All of us except for Carmen have dealt with immortal children before, and like I said, because she doesn't have that crescent, we thought she was an immortal child. If it wasn't for Carmen, who was the first to give Nessie a chance, we wouldn't be here right now."

"I see," Garrett said. "Could you tell me then, what's the difference between an immortal child and a vampire child? I was bitten, not born, and the only vampire child I've ever met was Edward, about a year after Esme had given birth to him. He certainly didn't seem harmful, though I do suppose he was only a baby."

"Immortal children are humans who have been bitten and changed at a very young age," I said, my voice quivering only slightly. I hoped Garrett wouldn't notice, but that hope was probably futile. "Their mentality is frozen at the age which they changed, so they were prone to temper tantrums which could result in the destructions of cities. The newborn immortal children were even worse. Those tantrums combined with all of their strength, the results were catastrophic. The vampire children are always learning. They don't need their nutrition from live sources, but have to be bottle-fed at first. After about five years, they can start to go hunting, and by then the parents should have taught them the rules, and they should understand. At least, that's how Carlisle and Esme raised Edward and Emmett. They were the only ones I ever met when they were still children. Anyway, the vampire children age like regular human children do until the parents change them."

"Yes, that I knew about," Garrett said. "So, I'm guessing that you were not one of the vampire children?"

"Yes, I was bitten, along with Tanya and my other sister Irina," I said, but didn't elaborate. We were coming dangerously close to the subject of Sasha, a place I was determined not to go. Even Carmen and Eleazar didn't know the whole story, and I don't think the Cullen's even knew Sasha's name. The only one that might would be Edward from picking out an errant thought.

"And then what about the pregnancy process?" Garrett asked. "I know Rosalie said she was five months when she and Emmett sent me, but Carlisle and Esme remarked that Bella was only a few months old and that Renesmee was only in the womb for a month prior to her change."

"I'm almost positive that vampire pregnancy is a mixture of a human's, and, apparently, Bella's," I replied, surprised that I still found myself engaged in the conversation, and still enjoying it. "Esme and Rosalie have said that they needed much more blood when they were pregnant, and human blood was better for Esme in the later months. Carlisle's able to get bags of those from work however, so Esme didn't have to hunt. She also told me that she stopped hunting altogether at the beginning of the ninth month. She said that she was able to function almost completely normally until the ninth month, although she couldn't do many of the usual acrobats we're capable of performing. During the ninth month, however, she was physically exhausted and didn't want to do much more than lie down and listen to music, or watch television. The craving for blood intensified then, and Carlisle had to feed her the human blood from a cup. The actual delivery was much easier than Bella's but a fair bit more difficult than a human's. Esme was in a whole lot of pain, seeing as her skin actually had to change to give birth, and obviously vampires aren't accustomed to that, but both Edward and Emmett were delivered successfully." Garrett was closely hanging onto every word I said, and it made me wonder why he was so interested in vampire children. Did he perhaps have a mate who was pregnant? For some reason, that thought made me burn with jealousy, and I could feel my electric current run over my skin for a moment. That annoyed me, as well as the jealous feelings. Why should I care at all if he had a mate? Still, I couldn't help but ask the question. "Why are you so interested? Are you having a child yourself?"

Garrett laughed, a lovely sound that echoed around the room. "No, I don't even have a mate. I was just intrigued by Rosalie's pregnancy and Renesmee, and I was wondering how each of them differed from each other and the immortal children. And you were answers just waiting for me, in a much lovelier form than Carlisle or Edward."

I laughed along with him, his words giving me another inexplicable feeling, though this one was a pleasant, warm feeling coursing through my stilled veins.

"If you really want to know about vampire children, you should talk to the Irish coven," I said, pointing them out where they were talking with Benjamin and Tia. "Maggie is Siobhan and Liam's actual daughter. Out of everyone here, I'm sure they could tell you the most about children. Everything I know is just from second hand experience. I was with Esme when she gave birth to both Edward and Emmett. Carmen is almost as motherly as Esme is, so she and Carlisle actually delivered both boys."

"Pity, we just missed each other by a year then," Garrett said. "I visited Carlisle for little over a week a year after Edward was born. I do recall Esme talking about some cousins who helped with the delivery process." He glanced toward the Irish coven, and Benjamin and Tia again. "Anyway, Kate, you've given me all the answers I needed. I'd love to stay and talk some more, but I probably should make acquaintance with some of the others. But tell me when Carlisle, Esme, and Tanya come back. I'd love to get to know the entire Denali coven. But it was most definitely a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kate." He inclined his head towards me and then stalked off to the Irish coven, leaving me completely, for once in my life, speechless.

It wasn't until later that evening that Carlisle, Esme, and Tanya returned. By then, Garrett had made himself quite popular at the Cullen's. He was especially friendly with Benjamin and Tia. I was completely unaware of Tanya's return until she grabbed my arm and started dragging me upstairs to our room.

I had been sitting there quietly, my eyes following Garrett all day, and she startled me so much I had accidentally shocked her. She yelped and rubbed her arm, causing quite a few people to turn and look. Some, like Carmen and Eleazar, took one glance and knew exactly what was happening. However, others who didn't know about my gift (it wasn't like I paraded about it like Jane), like Garrett, stared at us with curiosity. Tanya ignored all of them, and grabbed me again. This time, I made sure not to shock her, but I didn't at all appreciate being dragged up. I yanked my arm from hers and simply followed her, feeling a pair of eyes on my back the whole way, and fairly positive who the owner was.

"Yes, Tanya?" I asked sarcastically once we had reached our destination. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"'Maybe we'll be next' I said. 'Keep the dream alive' she said. And despite that, cynical little Kate fell in _loooooooove_!" Tanya basically squealed in delight. She was filled with so much energy I wondered how she wasn't jumping around the room. Then what she said registered in my mind.

"Oh, God, Tanya, no!" I said, probably a little too quickly. She cut of further protestations before my mind could even formulate them.

"Kate, no matter how much you try to convince yourself of that, you're never going to be able to fool me. You didn't even realize I walked in because you were too busy staring at Garrett. And I'll bet you don't even know you're in love with Garrett yet, but just wait. Soon enough even you won't be able to deny it."

"Whoa, Tanya, you are blowing this way out of proportion," I said, struggling to maintain my voice to a reasonable volume. "I've only ever had one conversation with the guy. And besides, he's a nomad. He's going to want to travel all over the place, not stay in one area like we do. Not to mention that he drinks human blood. Did you forget that little factor?"

Tanya brushed her hand aside. "None of that matters when it's true love," she said dreamily. I gave up arguing with her at that point. It was impossible to sway Tanya's opinion when she got like that. "But you are going to admit to me that you at least like him," Tanya suddenly said harshly, throwing in a glare just to prove she was serious. "It can't be good for you to keep all your feelings bottled up Kate."

I grit my teeth together. But Tanya's glare told me she wasn't going to let this go until I gave her the answer that she wanted. And, if I really was being truthful with myself, I meant every word I planned to say to her. "Fine. I will admit that he's… well, the most gorgeous looking male that I've ever seen, and I'd love to get to know him better. Happy?" I spit out. Tanya was satisfied, however, because she knew I was telling the truth. I couldn't hide anything from Tanya, or Irina, just like they couldn't hide anything from me.

"Then let's go!" Tanya exclaimed. "Carmen told me that some of the vampires were going to spar for fun, and for some of us, practice."

"And there's no doubt Garrett's going to miss that," I muttered, to which Tanya nodded to. If there was anything I had learned about Garrett, it was that boredom was the worst thing to him, and he was highly inquisitive and adventurous. He'd never sit on the sidelines.

We headed downstairs to find that Bella and Edward were introducing Renesmee to another nomad; Randall, I heard Edward call him. I didn't pay him much mind. He was much less interesting and infinitely less gorgeous than the last nomad that came. No, I had to watch those thoughts around Edward. I chanced a glance at him, but he gave no indication that he heard what I had been thinking. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

When Tanya and I reached the backyard, we found most of the vampires gathered. They were forming a circle around Garrett and Benjamin. They were involved in a friendly spar. I could see that Garrett had more experience than Benjamin, and that alone provided him with a huge advantage. He also seemed very smart and focused. Even that grin that I had become so accustomed to was off his face, replaced by a look of concentration.

Benjamin thought he saw an opening and he lunged for Garrett. But Garrett stepped out of the way at the last split second and ended up on top of Benjamin. He stayed there for a second, in a fighting position, then straightened up and jumped to the ground. "Good fight, brother," he said as he helped Benjamin to his feet, that grin that I grew to associate with him already returned to his face. Benjamin grinned back at him.

"If I'd been using my gift, you'd be a pile of ashes," he joked. Garrett chuckled lightly. "No doubt I would," he said. Then he spotted me. He congratulated Benjamin again for the exemplary fight he had given, then he made his way over to where I was standing.

"Nice," I said softly. "But I don't think you'd be any match for me."

Garrett's eyebrows went up. "Is that a challenge Kate? Let's go, right now. Prove to me that you're not just a pretty face."

I threw back my head and laughed. "I'm not so cruel as to put you in that position without you seeing what I'm capable of first." I scanned the group, and my eyes landed on Tanya, who was standing near Esme. "Oh, Tanya," I called sweetly. She caught one glimpse of my face and knew immediately what I wanted. The devious grin she got was the twin of what I was currently wearing. She stepped into the center of the circle with me.

"No cheating," she muttered, referring to my gift, as she lowered herself into a crouch.

"Wouldn't dream of it," I said back, and then I was flying at her.

We were locked in a sort of graceful, yet frenzied combat. I was determined to win, to prove to Garrett that I could easily beat him. But Tanya would never go easy on me. It wasn't in her nature. For that, I was thankful. I would have to work to win this fight, and I had the conviction I needed to do so.

I was faster than Tanya. She was stealthy, but in the game that we were playing, speed made all the difference. I had noticed that in Garrett's fight with Benjamin. Garrett had been the faster of the two, and it was ultimately the fact that he was quick enough to move out of the way and land on Benjamin's back that he had won the fight.

I saw Tanya diving lower, as if she was going to get under my legs and push them up. But she had done that so many times before, I didn't think she would try it now. No, she had something different in mind. She was counting on me to anticipate the move and jump out of the way. Well, sorry to disappoint, oh dear sister of mine.

She ran headfirst towards me, and at the last second, so quickly I had been unsure if I was actually able to pull it off, I crouched into a ready position as Tanya executed a backflip that would have put her on top of me had I jumped out of the way like she wanted. Instead, it left her on the ground, facing the spot I had been moments earlier. But I was one step ahead of her. I jumped into a backflip like Tanya and landed squarely on her shoulders, knocking her to the ground. I put her head between my hands, assuring that if this was a real fight, her head would no longer be connected to her body. I held the pose for a second longer, than got back up.

"I win," I said, much less enthusiastically than Tanya would have. She two got to her feet, smiling at me.

"Nice fighting baby sister," she said, causing me to roll my eyes. We returned to our different spots in the circle as Liam and Siobhan began a playful match.

"Remind me to never make the mistake of underestimating you," a low voice said behind me. Slowly turning around, I looked into the ruby eyes of Garrett than I'd known I would see.

"Did you think I wasn't capable of fighting?" I asked slowly, but unable to stop a small grin from placing itself on my lips.

"I did not think you or anyone was capable of fighting that well," Garrett said. "But trust me, our fight is still on. Just give me until tomorrow night, when I might come up with some strategy that might just be your undoing."

"Always the soldier, are you Garrett?" I asked playfully. This caused him to laugh that wonderful laugh.

"Always," he said. "From the Revolutionary to kicking the Volturi's ass in the Cullen's backyard." Afterwards, we talked late into the night and I found myself genuinely enjoying every second of it.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, however, was far less luxurious. Rosalie and Emmett returned early in the morning, with the last nomad, Mary, (with the Amazons, Zafrina and Senna, having been sent by Alice, coming later in the day) and it was wonderful to see them again, especially Rosalie. She was simply glowing at a now five month pregnancy. I knew that she and Emmett had been trying for years with no success, and now, Rose was finally getting what she wanted. I knew that she loathed being frozen in time, and having a limitation of two children, but she was much less bitter than she had been about her situation. She bubbled with pride when anyone asked about her baby, and I could tell that the love she and Emmett had for each other had been renewed and made even stronger.

And yes, I was thrilled for Rosalie and Emmett. They deserved nothing less. But seeing how happy Rosalie was, and how content she was, I burned with jealousy. I desperately wanted what she had, love, and children to go along with it. I had never really given any thought to the idea before Irina had met Laurent. I had always pictured Carmen as the motherly type. But once I saw how happy my sister was once she had found the person she wasn't even looking for, how could I not want that for myself? I had thought myself content, but only because I didn't know that kind of happiness could be found. I hadn't known Carmen or Eleazar before they were mated, so I didn't see the change in them once they found their mates. But I got to experience that firsthand with Irina.

But thankfully, I was able to get my mind off it just a little bit. Bella wanted to start practicing expanding her talent, and she wasn't going to be able to push herself as far as we needed her to with any sort of motivation other than the pain of Edward. And here I was, pain ready made for their disposal.

However, as we progressed later in the day, both Bella and I began to get frustrated. I could tell she was barely making any progress at all, even with Edward being shocked over and over again. Edward tried to be optimistic to the point of foolishness. He even went so far as to tell her one of my shocks barely hurt, when I could easily tell from his sharp wince that he was lying.

Thankfully, Bella didn't buy the lie either. We didn't have time to tread lightly around this. Her shield could be the difference between life and death if it came to a fight. If we could stop Jane and Alec, if we could take them out, we would stand a chance.

Bella grit her teeth together in a mixture of concentration and frustration. "Again, Kate" she said. I nodded and shocked Edward once again, turning it up just a little to provoke Bella further. This time however, I didn't feel Edward flinch under my palm. He smiled.

"Nothing that time," he said.

"That wasn't low either," I muttered. Bella breathed a sigh of relief, and I warned her to keep it up. I shocked Edward again, upping up the amount of shock even farther. This time, he hissed in pain, causing Bella to freak out.

"You're doing an amazing job Bella," Edward said the instant the pain ebbed enough that he could speak again. "You've only really been working on this for a few days and you're already projecting sporadically. Kate, tell her how well she's doing," he added, fixing me with a piercing stare as he read my answer in my thoughts. I wasn't going to make this light and fluffy when the situation was the farthest thing from. False hope could be one's worst enemy. No, no matter how mad it made Edward, I wasn't going to tell Bella anything but the truth.

"I don't know," I said, a little bit harshly. "She's obviously got tremendous ability, and we're only beginning to touch it. She can do better, I'm sure. She's just lacking incentive." Bella's eyes widened at my words, but clearly me shocking Edward wasn't going to do it for her. But what was something Bella loved even more than Edward? The answer came to my mind almost instantly, so simple I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before.

I looked around at the group of vampires assembled. Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar were there, as well as Siobhan, Maggie, Benjamin, Tia, Zafrina, Senna, Garrett (I couldn't decide if I was pleased by this or not), and then, I finally found who I was looking for. She was talking with the Amazons, because she just loved Zafrina's 'pretty pictures'.

"Kate…" Edward growled, but I ignored him and jumped out of his grasp. "Nessie," I called. "Would you like to come and help your mother?" My tone of voice shocked me. I wanted to make sure Nessie knew that I meant her no harm, but I didn't know my voice could get so soft and… dare I say it? _Loving. _Most of the vampires there didn't think anything of it, but the ones in my coven, and of course, _Garrett_, looked at me curiously, wondering what the sudden change in my tone of voice was.

But I got Nessie's attention, like I needed. She bounded over, causing Bella to grind her teeth. "No," she spit out at me as she picked up her daughter. "Absolutely not Kate."

Nessie's eyes and smile widened. "But Momma, I want to help," she said. Bella didn't relax her aggressive position.

"No," she said again. "Stay away from us Kate!"

I smiled at her again. "No," I echoed her. I slowly got closer. I couldn't believe Bella really thought I'd hurt Nessie, but I suppose that was essential to my whole plan. I was more than capable than taking a newborn, and Bella knew that. She was worried for Nessie's safety, and her inability to protect her daughter.

Finally, when I thought Bella was just going to turn and run, I stopped and looked at Edward. "Can you hear anything from Nessie?" I asked.

Edward's strained look was suddenly replaced by one of confusion. He cocked his head, as if listening intently. "No, nothing at all," he said. He moved slightly to his right, putting himself in between Bella and Renesmee and me. "Now give Bella some space to calm down Kate. You shouldn't goad her like that. I know she doesn't seem her age, but she's only a few months old."

"We don't have time to do this gently Edward," I hissed back at him. He had been hearing my thoughts all day, and he should have known that time was not on our side. "We're going to have to push her. We've only got a few weeks and she's got the potential-"

"Back off for a minute, Kate," Edward all but growled. I was about to argue back when a voice, so soft I doubted anyone but me could hear it, spoke to me. "Listen to him Kate. Fighting amongst ourselves is only going to cause to cause unneeded tension." I listened to that voice, because it belonged to someone I unexplainably trusted. Garrett's voice calmed me down enough to listen, and started backing up, away from Bella and Edward and towards Garrett.

"Kate," Bella's voice came, stopping me in my tracks. "Again, but only Edward."

I rolled my eyes, but I let them step forwards towards me this time. I pressed my palm against his arm and let loose a volt. He shook his head. "Nothing."

I tried again, increasing the voltage levels each time, until I was straining to shock him. Each time, Bella's shield protected him.

Zafrina stepped forward. "Can you see this?" she asked.

"I don't see anything I shouldn't," he responded, which made Zafrina look extremely pleased.

"Now, no one panic," she announced. "I want to see how far she can extend it." I let out a little gasp that was multiplied quite a few times by the others. I was seeing an Amazon rainforest, probably where Zafrina usually lived. It was a peaceful place, nice, bright, and sunny, so unlike my house in Alaska. "Put your hand up when you get your sight back," I heard Zafrina say.

After a couple of moments, I was taken from the rainforest and transported back to Washington. I put my hand up in the air, and Bella's intense look of concentration moved to Garrett. I could feel my eyes flash dangerously for a moment. No one should be looking at my Garrett like that…

Dear Lord, what was wrong we me? I looked nervously towards Edward, but he was mumbling to himself with such concentration that I don't think he processed what he heard. But I shouldn't be thinking of Garrett as mine. Still, I wanted to get to know him, better than anyone else had. His endless questions were endearing. Last night, we had talked more about my diet, and why I chose it. He had made me laugh a countless number of times. I had never felt such an attraction to a single person before. In the deepest layers of my subconscious, I _wanted_ to make Garrett mine.

Garrett's hand came up. His gaze focused on me, and he smiled at me. I lifted up the corners of my mouth in response, my cynical version of a smile. He was infuriating me. I shouldn't want to be near him as bad as I did.

I was contemplating either going over to him or edging farther when Bella lost control of her shield and I was back in rainforest. Zafrina took the image from our minds a few moments later, but those few moments caused a decision of mine to be interrupted, one that for some reason, I felt was important.

I blinking my eyes and shook my head a little, when I heard an all-too familiar voice behind me, calling my name. "I wouldn't Garrett," Edward called, but Garrett ignored him and kept advancing towards me. Edward's warning just made me even more curious as to what Garrett, so decided to stay around and find out.

"They say you can put a vampire flat on his back," Garrett said. Ah, this is what he was curious about. I would definitely play back with him, which, I noted quickly, wasn't really in my nature. Oh well. At least Tanya would be proud.

"Yes," I agreed. I got a smile on my face that I knew would draw Garrett in. I also held up my hand, wiggling my fingers at him. "Curious?" I asked in another tone I had never used before. Tanya would call it flirty, but I didn't know what I would categorize it as.

Garrett shrugged, seemingly indifferent, but I saw the spark of a challenge in his ruby eyes. "That's something I've never seen," he said, a very light hint of teasing in his voice. I wasn't sure if anyone else had picked up on it, or even if I was interpreting it right. "Seems like it might be a bit of an exaggeration…"

That was it. I was reeling him in, no matter what the cost was. I schooled my features into mask of seriousness, choosing words that I knew would he would find too irresistible to back down from. "Maybe. Maybe it only works on the weak or the young. I'm not sure. You look strong, though. Perhaps you could withstand my gift." Oh, I was getting good at this. Compliment him, meaning every word I said, but afterwards it would seem like just a ploy to get him to feel the potency of my gift. I raised my hand slowly in his direction.

Garrett sauntered over, a big grin set back on his face where it belonged, and extreme confidence radiating out of every pore. He was in for a shock, literally. Edward, Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar were watching him with a sort of grim amusement, knowing perfectly well what was in store for him. As he touched his finger to my palm, I exerted my shock up as high as it would go. I travelled through his body and sent him sprawling to the ground, cracking his head on a piece of granite. I winced. I really didn't mean to hurt him that much… well, at least the Volturi wouldn't know what hit them if it came down to a fight.

"I told you so," Edward muttered as Garrett began to regain his senses. He unsteadily got to his knees, and then that wonderful smile returned to his face, magnified even more.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, as he tried to get to his feet, and then found he was still too dizzy from the shock.

"Don't tell me you enjoyed that," I asked skeptically, looking down at him with yet another of my cynical looks. Maybe he really was crazy after all…

"I'm not crazy," Garrett said, eerily echoing my thoughts. "But that sure was something!" He finally got back to feet, and once more towered over me with his six foot two self.

"That's what I hear," I say, laughing lightly. "Of course, I can't get it out of my body at all. All I can do is run a current over my skin. Although who knows, maybe another millennium of practice and I'll be able to do it."

Garrett laughed along with me, but he abruptly stopped. "I hope this doesn't mean that you're going to use it on me when we have our fight?" he asks. I shook my head.

"No, that's what Tanya was talking about last night," I said. "She told me not to cheat, and believe me, you would have known if I did."

"Oh, I believe that," Garrett said, laughing again. "That just proved my earlier theory that no one should ever underestimate you. But this just means that I still might have a chance of winning if you don't use your gift."

"And what makes you so confident about that?" I asked, in that same tone of voice that I had used earlier, that Tanya would call flirty. The smile only Garrett could bring out of me was also drawn to my lips.

"Oh, I've just been asking around," Garrett said evasively, shrugging again. Before I could respond, Tanya called for me from inside that house. Apparently, some Romanians had come uninvited and Carlisle wanted everyone present.

"Well, until tonight then," Garrett said as we departed, taking my hand and kissing it. I didn't even notice my feet were carrying me to the house until I literally ran into Tanya.

One look at my face and all she said was, "We are so talking later tonight."

Once the sky had turned to black and the stars came out to scatter the heavens with their soft glow, all of us except Edward, Bella, and Alistair gathered in the Cullen's expansive backyard to continue our sparring. Edward and Bella were at their house, tucking Renesmee in for the night, and Alistair was simply watching us from the attic. Even Amun and Kebi were there, though I highly doubted they were going to take part in the actual fighting.

Emmett and Randall were engaged at the moment. Emmett was eager to participate, seeing as he 'had been missing all the action!' while he was away. Rosalie was standing outside the circle, rolling her eyes and rubbing her bloated stomach. The fight went on for several minutes before Emmett finally reigned victorious, but it was a close fight.

A few fights took place when I waiting for mine and Garrett's. A few that stood out were Maggie's and Tia's, both of them being much more experienced than I thought, but ultimately, Maggie won, and Senna and Zafrina's. The Amazon women fought with an intensity rarely seen, even by vampires. Senna actually was the victor of that, but it was the closest fight I had ever seen. It like watching two pieces of the same whole dancing together. I guessed that there fights were similar to the ones I had with Tanya and Irina: none of us could consistently get the upper hand on each other.

Finally, it was my turn to go up against Garrett. I saw some of the others whispering to each other, and even saw money being exchanged between Emmett and Randall. Apparently, word of our impending battle had spread in the Cullen's house.

Garrett and I circled each other slowly, each waiting for the other to strike. I knew Garrett was fast, but I was fairly confident that I was just a bit faster. I had 750 more years than he had to perfect my fighting technique. I danced back and forth towards him, launching myself up into the air, thinking to hook my leg around his neck if he tried to back out of the way. However, he was quicker than I had anticipated. My leg flew uselessly through the air, and I came up crouched on one leg, the other one spread straight, my hands touching the ground. Garrett was smiling down at me, and I gave him my most dazzling smile in response. I wasn't called succubus for nothing. When we wanted to be, Tanya, Irina, and I were irresistible. When I was fighting, I used any advantage I could get, save for my gift when sparring. But everything else was fair game.

However, Garrett seemed unaffected by my smile and crept towards me. I help my pose, and jumped out of the way when he lunged for me. And suddenly, we were locked in the same sort of dance Senna and Zafrina had been in. Neither of us could gain the advantage or any sort of leverage. I used all the tricks I could think of, yet Garrett was able to get out of them all, and vice versa.

Finally, I was desperate enough to try something I had never done before. Garrett wasn't a newborn, so if he got his arms around me, it wouldn't mean instant death. I took my opportunity the next time he lunged. I purposely ducked much slower than I usually would have, allowing his to grab me around the neck.

He thought he had me, he thought triumph was in his reach. But as he struggled to pull me to the ground, I lifted my legs off the ground and wrapped them around his torso. Using the momentum, I threw him to the ground with my legs, forcing him to release my neck.

I saw him go sprawling to the ground. I almost even got out my triumphant smile to wear on my lips for the rest of the night. But I didn't notice that Garrett had wrapped one of arms around my waist until I found myself falling right along with him. And because he had the grip on me, he managed to make it so that he was on top of me, and then pressed his lips to my neck, kissing my skin ever so slightly, right in front of everyone. "I win," he whispered against my skin.

I put my knees around his hips and rolled so that I was on top of him. I placed my lips close to his ear, just a hair's breadth away from coming in contact with his skin.

"Are you sure?" I asked. Before Garrett had the chance to respond, Randall yelled across the clearing, "Get a room!" My head snapped up, glaring at him with as much intensity as I could muster, which made the monstrous sized man quail in fear.

And the suddenly, I felt myself being rolled again, and Garrett planted himself on top of me, this time pinning my legs and arms alike, and lowered his lips to the place where my jaw connected to my neck. I was utterly helpless. "Yes, I'm sure," Garrett said, and before I could even prepare myself, his tongue snaked out and gently touched my skin along with his lips. I jerked underneath him violently, and I felt the current of electricity run over my skin, though not out of self-defense, but the sheer pleasure I felt when Garrett's mouth was connected with my skin. Thus, the current was much lighter than if I had consciously meant to shock him. I tried holding the current back as best as I could, but I still felt Garrett jerking above me as a small flow coursed through his body.

"No fair, Kate," he whispered, but finally relented and got off of me. I got to my feet the instant that I could, attempting to make sense of my jumbled thoughts that were flying around my head. I was just glad that Edward wasn't present.

"Dammit!" Emmett yelled. Suddenly, I found myself and Garrett surrounded by the hulking forms of Emmett and Randall. "You weren't supposed to lose Kate!" Emmett continued. "In the century that I've known you, I'd have thought you could handle yourself by now. Damn, now I owe him money."

"If someone," I spit out, glaring at Randall again, "hadn't interfered, I would have won."

Garrett laughed. "I had you pinned first, even you have to admit that," he said, trying to give me what he clearly thought was a winning smile. Well, he was completely right about that, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of falling for his act.

"But I was able to flip you over," I said smugly, refusing to admit my defeat to him, even when it was blatantly obvious.

"And if it was a real fight, I wouldn't have been gentle when I had you pinned, either time," Garrett said.

"Gentle!" I yelled. I was about to go into a ramble about how using his most talented mouth on my all too willing body was not playing gently, when Tanya, bless her soul, came over grabbed my arm, and started leading my toward the house, apologizing to the boys for stealing me away.

Tanya sat me down in our room. "OK, Kate, spill. And don't bother giving me the whole, 'I-barely-know-him' crap anymore. Everyone out there felt the electricity between the two of you, and it wasn't because of your gift. You've got a spark!"

I didn't want to tell her about what happened this afternoon, and especially not what just occurred only moments earlier. But this was Tanya. Who could I trust if not her?

"Fine. But you better swear not to tell anyone, and watch your thoughts around Edward," I growled. Tanya nodded impatiently, eager for me to get on with my story.

"So after I shocked him and then was called inside to meet Vladimir and Stefan, he kissed my hand as I left," I mumbled, and Tanya squealed in joy. Then she shushed herself and sat forward slightly, hanging on to every word that came out of my mouth. "And then tonight, he kissed my neck the first time he pinned me, and then the second time… well, um, he kissed my neck again, but this time, um, his tongue was involved." I had barely whispered the last words, but Tanya caught them all the same. It was evident from her reaction. She squealed again and started throwing out her thoughts.

"Oh, Kate, I knew you liked him, and I knew he liked you too! Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if you came back to Denali with a mate? Just think Kate, you could be married within a year," she bubbled.

"And again, Tanya, you are blowing everything out of proportion," I said, attempting to stop the fantasies that immediately burst into my imagination at her words. "We do not know if he feels anything for me or not. Only time will tell. But don't worry, I'm going to give it to him. Like you said, I'm not even going to bother denying that I'm attracted to him at this point." Tanya nodded, pleased with my answer, but she had one last thought to throw in.

"He does like you Kate. Soon you'll see. I just hope you aren't too stubborn to blind yourself to what's best for you." And with that, she headed downstairs, leaving me to try and sort out the even larger mess my mind had become.


	4. Chapter 4

A few days before we assumed Alice's vision was supposed to ring true, me, Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie planned to go hunting. I hadn't gone in a couple of days, and my eyes were darkening because of it. We headed out close to noon, after Carmen had stopped cooing with Rosalie about her baby. As we were leaving, I saw Carmen look longingly at Rosalie's stomach, and then at Eleazar. Eleazar sighed, but smiled at her and nodded. Another pang of jealousy coursed its way through my body as I wished desperately for the means to have one of my own. Obviously, Eleazar and Carmen were going to actively try even harder now.

When we stepped outside, we saw Bella with Emmett and Garrett, obviously having just spared with the latter of the two. Judging from Garrett's slightly superior expression, he had been victorious, which was to be expected. Garrett was more than capable of taking a newborn.

Garrett. During the past few days, I had spent nearly all of my time talking to him. True, there were a few intense times that required my attention, most prominent being when Alistair had left, and Amun had threatened to take his coven and follow Alistair's lead. If it hadn't been for Benjamin, they would have. All those who were fighting declared themselves, myself included. But the majority of my time was with Garrett. We had sparred a few more times, and most of these I won. Garrett seemed to find it hilarious that he couldn't beat me without resorting to some sort of extreme trickery. Tanya seemed to find it hilarious that I was constantly looking for him when I wasn't with him (which annoyed me whenever I realized what I was doing). I found it exasperating that I couldn't stop thinking about him.

As Bella prepared to fight with Emmett before we left, Garrett wandered over to where we were, as we prepared to fly through the woods.

"Are you going hunting?" he asked us. It only took a half second before I realized that the other three were going to wait for me to speak. I understood Tanya's reasons for it, but I hadn't told Carmen or Eleazar anything about my feelings for Garrett. The only explanation that I could come up with was what Tanya had said a few nights ago was true: Garrett and I had a certain spark that was palpable to others around us.

"Yes," I replied. "Even vegetarians have to eat sometime."

Garrett smiled, and then got an odd expression on his face, like he was trying to work out a complicated problem. "Could I try it with you?" he suddenly burst out. "I'm curious about this, and I want to see if I can do it."

"Sure," I replied, getting that same smile on my face that I had gotten after we talked when I had shocked him. "If you really think you're up for it."

"You go with him, Kate," Tanya suddenly piped up. "It's easier to just go with one person for your first time so you're not competing with a bunch of different people for the food."

Garrett and I both nodded, so Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar, and the Cullen's (Emmett having won his brawl with Bella) sprinted on ahead, while I raced back to the Cullen's house.

I had got permission from Carlisle to use his Mercedes, and in an instant Garrett and I were flying along the highway, taking the short drive to the mountains. "It'll be easier for you if you have carnivores instead of deer. Carnivore blood tastes more similar to human blood than herbivores," I explained.

"What's your favorite?" he asked me. I looked over at him with a furrowed brow, not really understanding. "Animal to eat," he explained, getting that devilish grin on his face.

"Oh," I said, laughing. "I should have guessed that. Canadian lynx is my favorite, but we're not going to find any here. I love a good wolf every once in a while as well. Do you think you could guess Emmett's? It'll be obvious once you know the answer." Garrett shook his head. "Bear," I replied, smiling, which caused Garrett for laugh.

"That would be Emmett," he said, still chortling. "And only Emmett would find wrestling with bears to be a good pastime."

"Oh, I don't know," I said, in a light voice. "I have figured you might try just to see if you could get away with it. That's how you tend to treat challenges you're presented with, is it not?" I completely took my eyes off the road, but not worried even though we were going over 80 miles an hour. Vampire reflexes were wonderful when we were driving. But Garrett's answer was what the majority of my attention was focused on. I had to know if I was just another challenge presented to him that he felt he needed to conquer. I wouldn't subject myself to any heartbreak if I was. I had already invested more time than was healthy in him of that was the case.

"Most of the time," Garrett said, his voice low. "But I've found something lately that I hope will turn into much more than just a challenge to be unlocked." He was staring at me intently, and I tried to force myself to hold his gaze. But after a while, I just couldn't do it anymore. There was something in his stare that I'd seen thousands of times over my millennium, but never directed at me. I saw it in the stares of Carmen and Eleazar, Carlisle and Esme, Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, Edward and Bella. At the time, I had called it love in their stares. But now Garrett was giving me that exact same look. If he was directing it at anyone else, I would have still called it love. But I was hesitant to give it the same label when it was for me.

I tore my gold eyes away from his burgundy ones and focused on the road. I sped up the car another 10 mph to get to our destination faster. We were close now.

A few minutes later, and I parked the car in the parking lot of a hiking trail. There were forest guides around to make sure everyone started on the intended path, but they wouldn't be any problem in a couple minutes. As a precaution, I glanced back at Garrett to make sure he wasn't having problems and going to attempt to eat the guides. Then, I would have no choice but to shock him to his knees.

However, he didn't seem to be having any issues controlling his thirst. His eyes were dark enough that they could pass for dark brown or even black to a human's dull vision. Only I could detect the faint hints of red around the rims of his irises.

As we got out of the car, Garrett took my hand. I looked up at him, raising my eyebrows to ask my question. He leaned down close to my ear to answer.

"It'll keep them from bothering you too much," he told me. I glanced at the guides, who had previously been watching me with hungry eyes. The second Garrett grabbed my hand, they slumped down, looking defeated, but stopped watching me.

We made sure to control our speed so we didn't seem to be anything more than a simple human couple going for a stroll. As we walked by the guides, one of them was still looking at me with a lustful look in his eye, but Garrett quelled that longing with a hard stare that would cause even the bravest men to shake in fright.

We walked for a couple minutes in silence this way, until I deemed it safe enough to go hunting. I dropped Garrett's hand, reluctant to do so despite my concerns about him, and dashed off the trail, with Garrett following right behind me.

We travelled up the small mountain together, hunter's senses on full alert. I used each of my senses to try and find the blood that was pulsing through the plethora of animals the mountains of Washington had to offer. Before long, I caught the scent of something that smelled utterly delicious.

Garrett caught the scent at almost the exact same time that I did, and we raced for it together. As we drew closer, it became apparent to me that we were tracking two mountain lions battling for the right to a certain mate.

They didn't have any idea what hit them as we came upon them. Garrett and I each tackled one of them. I didn't waste any time sinking my teeth into its throat, feeding from its supply of life. After just a few moments, the lion stopped struggling, dead.

Garrett did things a different way than I did, but the norm for one who had hunted humans their whole life. He preferred to choke the life out of the animal before he bit into the soft skin. But after just a couple gulps, he pulled away, with an odd look on his face. It somehow reminded me of the expression a young child wore when forced to take medicine. The sight was so comical it sent bursts of laughter to come from me. I filled up the sky with my laugh, and the air around us echoed with it, making it seem as though a hundred Kate's were laughing with me.

It took several minutes for me to compose myself, during which time Garrett simply stared at me with one of his eyebrows raised. "You done?" he asked in his teasing tone of voice when I had finally stopped laughing. I nodded, but was unable to keep the smile off my lips completely. He raised his eyebrow even further asking me the question even more effectively then if he used words.

"What?" I asked immediately defending myself. "Your expression was hilarious."

"It tastes weird," he muttered. "I don't know how to describe it exactly, but it's definitely not what I'm used to. It's not necessarily _bad_, it'll just take a long time to get used to."

"Well are you going to finish that?" I asked, my eyes dancing. "Because I'll take it if you won't."

"No, I think I can finish my own meals," Garrett said, the old familiar spark back in his eyes. He bit into the puncture wounds he made in the lion and drained it of blood, the same expression that had sent me laughing on his face the entire time.

All in all, it was a very interesting day, to say the least. I was satiated quickly, but Garrett kept on wanting to find different animals, trying to find something that tasted closer to human blood. I kept on telling him that he'd already gotten as close as he was going to get, but he was determined to try and prove me wrong. But by the end of the day as the sky was growing increasingly darker and we had to get back to the car. Carlisle was forgiving of many things, but I didn't think he'd like it too much if we got his Mercedes towed. Garrett had been filled, finally, so he was alright with this plan once he figured out what the consequences were going to be.

We ran back down to the path and started walking back into the car, both of us in high spirits. Garrett had even more questions about vegetarianism now that he had tried it himself. He kept wanting to know if there were any benefits to it, besides not killing humans.

I was about to give him an answer that I knew would just lead to more questions of his (I thoroughly enjoyed them at this point), when we neared the gate. I knew that the guides were going to be there again, and even from this distance, I could smell the alcohol they had been consuming in their bloodstreams.

Garrett took my hand again, and we attempted to make it to the car inconspicuously. I let my long blonde hair fall in a way so that it would cover my face.

But we didn't have to worry about the guides. I couldn't believe neither Garrett nor I hadn't noticed the scent earlier. Once we caught it, it was plainer than day. Two other, unfamiliar vampires, had crossed our path. They were standing over the bodies of the guides, both completely drained of blood now. One had a lighter in his hand, which was carelessly throwing flames on the corpses, and before long, they were nothing more than ashes, blown away in the wind.

When they stood up, fresh from their kills, their blood red eyes told me immediately they were newborns. Even Garrett, who had been hunting humans all his life, didn't have eyes that vivid of a color. The newborns were both males, with a physique just slightly smaller than Emmett. As soon as they looked up, they saw us.

"Hey, check it out," one of them said with a bad southern accent. "We can have that bitch for a snack." I raised my eyebrows and gave them a look that would send most people running, but apparently they weren't very bright in the intelligence department, because they kept advancing.

"You dipshit Drew, they ain't food," the other one said. "They vamps, just like us."

That didn't hinder the other one, Drew. "I can smell Cal. She don't look like no vamp though, with those freaky eyes. Don't mean we still can't have fun with that bitch." And then, only with the speed a newborn could manage, he was right next to me, grabbing my arm and attempting to drag me away. I answered in the best way that I could: gave him such a big shock that sent him tumbling to the ground and ran back to Garrett's side before he could get back up. I didn't want to kill them, but I would if I had to.

"Dude, you can't hold on to your women," Cal laughed. Drew got up, a snarl plastered on his face.

"Bitch shocked me!" he yelled. Cal gave him a confused look, but Drew didn't notice. He was too busy trying to get back to me.

And suddenly, I was pulled in the opposite direction I was expecting, and I found myself staring into Garrett's face. He only had time to whisper a rushed "Don't freak out," before his mouth was on mine, attacking me in the most wonderful way I had ever been attacked.

It was as if my senses were heightened. I was aware of everything I could be without my sight, because my eyelids shut the instant Garrett connected his lips with mine. One of his hands was on the small of my back, the other on the back of my head, both hands pulling me even closer to him. My arms were wrapped around his neck, hands tangled in his long hair. I heard the shocked gasps from the other two, but they couldn't be more inconsequential to me. All I could feel was Garrett. I hadn't ever even imagined that life could be this beautiful or feel this good until now. Not once in over a millennium had I ever thought that even if I had found a mate, the experience would feel half so amazing. He wasn't gentle either. His mouth opened impatiently against mine and without a second thought I let him deepen the kiss, let him slide his tongue into my mouth.

All too quickly, and as suddenly as he started the kiss, he ended it, but keeping one arm possessively around my waist. "She's my bitch," he told the other two, suddenly using the same bad accent. I was about to yell at him, furious, but I saw the barest hint of a wink in my direction, and I suddenly, understood. And I knew I had to play along.

"Yeah, and I ain't no whore," I said, my voice too dipping into the accent. "I only have one man at a time." We were going to be white trash, the whole nine yards. Speak the language of the newborns, and we could get out of here unscathed, and without having to kill them.

"Just keep your hands off my bitch," Garrett said. Drew still looked like he wanted to argue, but Cal nodded.

"Oh, shit, sorry man," he said. "We respect other men's bitches. We'll leave yours alone 'kay? We'll back off now man."

Drew and Cal turned to leave, but before they did, Drew turned back. "Make your bitch scream for me tonight man," he said, a wicked gleam on his face. Garrett smiled sarcastically back. I knew it wasn't a real smile. It didn't fit Garrett at all.

"I don't need you telling me to do it to make my bitch scream!" he yelled back. Drew and Cal grinned suggestively, and then they were off into the mountains, heading for Oregon.

Garrett kept his arm around my waist until we were safely in the car. The second the doors we shut he looked at me a little worried. "If there's anything I have to apologize for, tell me now. I was just trying to get us out of there without having to kill them, I swear. I didn't mean anything that I said." His voice went out of the accent the second he didn't have to use it anymore, and I was beyond grateful for that. Garrett's natural voice was so much lovelier.

"You're fine," I said reassuring him. "I totally got it. I didn't really want to kill them either, but they were getting on my nerves in a big way. Trust me, I was fine with it." A sudden, reckless feeling struck me, and before I could even think about the words I muttered, "A little more than fine during some of it."

This made Garrett smile, but not in the way I was used to. It was a tentative one, almost like Garrett had gotten a surprise so fantastic that he couldn't comprehend it. "Am I finally getting through to you Kate? Did it really take two newborns trying to steal you away?"

"I really hope you're finally getting through to me," I whispered as I leaned towards Garrett even as he was leaning towards me. Our lips met once again, but in a much different way. This time, we were curious, and eager to explore, but cautiously, ever so cautiously, as if we were afraid of breaking each other. After a minute, Garrett slid one hand up my arm to cup my cheek in his palm. I leaned my face into his hand immediately, and couldn't help but give a little sigh.

We pulled away just barely, keeping our foreheads pressed together. Our breaths intermingled and if I had a heart that still beat, it would have been flying as fast as I could run. Garrett suddenly put his arms around me, hugging me tightly against his chest. I put my hands on his back and rubbed small circles into his skin.

"Come on," I whispered into his ear a few minutes later. "We have to get back to Carlisle's." Garrett smiled that different but special smile at me, kissed me quickly once more, and then I flew off down the highway, heading back towards what would be a very tense couple of days, but I was happier than anyone could be to have stolen my own moment of peace with Garrett.

When we got back to the Cullen's house it was nearly empty. Almost everyone was still out hunting. It was the last time we'd be sure to go before the Volturi came. Garrett and I had been arguing playfully about the animal blood and the benefits about it. He was still skeptical about committing his life style to vegetarianism.

"But Kate, it doesn't taste as good as the human blood. You'll never be fully satiated," Garrett was saying. Bella walked in, and Garrett and I nodded to her in greeting, but both of us were almost solely focused on our conversation, a true feat for a vampire.

"Yes you will," I argued. "I used to feed on human blood until Tanya showed Irina and I a different way. At first, yes, it's difficult, but it takes less than a decade to get used to it. Eleazar used to be in the Volturi guard, and even he found it relatively easy."

"But why even bother changing your diet?" Garrett asked yet again. Out of all the things I said, this was the one thing he couldn't understand. "I mean, I understand if you want to preserve human life, but this is what we're made for in the first place."

"Because I don't believe that just because we are vampires, we should be given the right to kill," I sighed. "There was a time in my past where I saw an entire village massacred, and to this day, that is the single most disgusting thing I have ever seen. Never, ever again could I manage to drink human blood after seeing that scene that the immortal child wrought-"

"Wait, an immortal child?" Garrett asked. I cursed myself internally. I didn't want to tell even Garrett about Sasha and Vasilii. No one except for Tanya, Irina, and I knew, and we had almost an unspoken agreement to keep it that way until the days we died. The memory was still too painful, after all this time.

"Kate?" Garrett asked gently, wanting an answer I couldn't give. I just shook my head.

"Not yet," I barely managed to croak out. "Not yet." Garrett nodded, and seeing that I was close to vampire's own form of tears, he took me in his arms and held me close to his chest. "Maybe someday you can know part of the story, but not now. I just can't talk about now."

"Is there anyone else I could get the story from?" he asked gently. I debated on whether to send him to the Cullen's, Carmen, or Eleazar to get the part of the story that they knew. Garrett was obviously something special to me, even my old cynical self couldn't deny that anymore. The question was, what exactly _was_ he to me? We had kissed earlier, but that didn't necessarily mean that we would fall in love. Was this just a fling, doomed to end sometime soon? Or would we endure throughout the rest of our lives, however short they might be?

My old cynical nature screamed at me to tell him to leave. There would be less heartbreak that way. Cut it off before it could carry on too far, which would only be more painful. But this new, more venerable, yet more hopeful side yearned for him to stay. And two little words made my decision for me.

Old. New. Cynical Kate was old. Garrett had transformed me into someone new. I was still a bit cynical. That was such a strong trait that it would never completely go away. But this cynicism was mingled with hope and trust, and most of all, newfound love. Because whatever happened in the future, I couldn't deny that right now, in his arms, I loved Garrett. Not in love with him surely, but definitely something stronger than simply being fond of someone.

"The Cullen's, Carmen, or Eleazar," I said softly. "Don't ask Tanya, whatever you do, and don't let her overhear. It hurts just as much for her as it does for me." Garrett nodded, and continued to hold me, putting his chin on my head. I allowed this for a few more moments before I pushed away.

"I'm sorry," I said. "You shouldn't have to see me like that, so weak. I'm not weak," I said, almost snarling the word 'not'. That was one thing that could never change. I hated feeling weak.

"Having feelings isn't a weakness Kate," Garrett said, not smiling anymore. He didn't necessarily look angry, but a more intense look was definitely apparent on his features. "Having feelings proves we're still humane. We might be monsters, but we're still people. We still feel things, and that's the best thing that we can do. You can't be strong all the time. Sometimes, you have to let others be strong for you, Katie."

Katie. No one had ever called me that before. Occasionally, Tanya and Irina would call me Katrina if they were mad at me, but to the world, I was Kate. Simply Kate. And Kate was a strong name, indicating that I myself was strong and independent. I had always seen myself like that.

Katie was more feminine, a little more venerable sounding. Willing to let other people in, willing to take the backseat every once and a while. Every time I heard the name Katie previously, I had thought of a little girl with pigtails, skipping through a field and sucking on a lollipop. That's not what I pictured when Garrett said it.

Instead, I had a vision of the two of us together, in my bedroom in Denali. We were on a large, ornate bed with a purple and black comforter that was pulled up around us. My arms were wrapped around his bare torso, sliding up and down his back, and his were everywhere, loving me with his entire being. And I loved him back.

One of his hands travelled down to my stomach, which was swollen like Rosalie's. My hand went down to cover his. I noticed a ring on my finger, a silver one with diamonds sparkled around a large blue colored diamond in the center. Even Garrett's finger had a simple gold band around it.

As suddenly as the vision it appeared, is faded into my memories. A life that I could easily have with Garrett. I wasn't Alice, and I knew this wasn't the exact future, just my imagination, but I knew it could happen. All of my fantasies had been leading towards this moment of truth. Do I accept him and let him in, opening myself to heartbreak, or deny him again?

The answer was easier than I expected.

"No one's ever called me Katie before," I whispered. "But I like it."

Garrett grinned at me. "And is that just Kate talk translated into you'll start letting people take care of you now?"

I smiled and rolled my eyes at him. "Maybe. Maybe yes." I bumped my shoulder into his and kissed his cheek. A new thought came into my head about something he said. "But if you think we need to be humane, than how can you get on my case for refusing to eat humans?"

Garrett laughed, the sound filling up the whole room. "I just wanted to see if you would keep to your beliefs even when I was arguing with them," he said. "And besides, I like infuriating you. It's actually pretty amusing when you give me that look of yours that says 'are you being serious right now?'." I rolled my eyes at him, which just made him laugh harder. I tried to stop myself, but before I knew it I was laughing alongside him, alto and bass sounds floating through the house like music. He grabbed my waist and pulled me on top of his body on the couch. He rested his chin against my head again tightened his grip around my waist. And that's the position that Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie found us in when they came in just seconds later.

All of their golden eyes followed the sounds of laughter to us on the couch. Tanya and Emmett both broke into enormous grins, Carmen, Esme, and Rose smiled in amusement, and Carlisle and Eleazar raised their eyebrows, with hints of smiles on their own faces.

"Just remember, if you hurt her, I will hunt you down and rip you apart," Tanya said cheerfully as she came to sit next to us on the couch. Garrett just laughed lightly again in response. "Oh, and no face sucking in front of me," Tanya continued. "That's just plain nasty."

"Anymore rules, Tanya, Miss Kate-You-Need-To-Get-Together-With-Garrett-Because-You're-So-Cute-Together-Go-Now-Now-Now?" I asked my old sarcastic nature, one part of me that would stay the same no matter if I were to live for a thousand more millennia. Tanya rolled her eyes at me.

"I could give you the big sister speech," she said. "In which little Katrina would be getting scolded right now."

"Don't call me Katrina," I said, lifting my head so that I could glare at her. She knew I hated being called Katrina. Tanya lifted her hands in mock surrender, smiling. I nodded, still glaring, and settled my head back down against Garrett's shoulder.

"This is what I needed," Emmett said satisfactorily. "I lost a bet with Bella and I'm not allowed to make sex jokes about her and Edward anymore, and it was killing me. I can do it with the two of you!"

"Because we've developed a sex life," I said sarcastically, not even bothering to lift my head again to look Emmett in the eye. I was much too used to his jokes to even be annoyed with them. "And I could make all the jokes I wanted to about you and Rose. I could also have you on your back, gasping in pain. So don't even start with me."

My slight threat earned me a small warning snarl from Rosalie. "Relax, Rose, you know I'm not going to do anything. I value my life just a little too much. Besides, I think the Volturi put a claim on my head, and I would hate to deprive them of that opportunity. That would just be incredibly inconsiderate." The people gathered around me laughed, and we were able to have a wonderful night, one where friendships and laughter and family were prominent in every corner of the room. It was so peaceful, and I loved being a part of it. I didn't know any other coven who had formed so large or strong a family as Carlisle and Tanya had been able to put together with our two covens. It was enchanting, and if I could still cry, a single tear would have slid down my cheek at the wonder I felt to be a part of something so unique and beautiful.

"Kate? Can I have a quick word?" Eleazar asked, appearing at my shoulder suddenly. I nodded and quickly got up from where I was still lying across Garrett's body. Eleazar led me to a corner of the Cullen's living room, as far away from the rest of them as we could get. Eleazar looked uneasy, so I had a fairly good idea that I wasn't going to like whatever it was that he was going to say.

"Kate, I know you have strong feelings for Garrett," he began, and then stopped hastily when he saw my glare. "No, please, just hear me out," he begged. "I don't believe Garrett means us any harm, and I like him very much, but look at what happened the last time we let a nomad into our coven. That's what the trigger to this whole mess was. And I don't think Laurent meant any harm to us either."

"Garrett doesn't have any crazy friends that want to kill people we're close to," I shot back. "And besides, he didn't even say he was coming with us. I don't know what his plans are if we get out of this. We'll deal with that when the time comes, Eleazar. Please, just let me enjoy the time with him that I have now. We might be dead in a couple days anyway. You know I wouldn't ask unless it was important to me."

Eleazar still looked pained. "You know you're like a sister to me, Kate," he said. "I don't want to see you get hurt in the same way Irina was. I know that I'm acting very overprotective, but I'm just looking at what has happened in the past. I don't want history to repeat itself."

"It won't," I said, with much more conviction than I actually felt. "Like I said, we'll probably be dead in a couple days. And I'm a big girl, Eleazar. I can take care of myself."

He chuckled darkly. "I know that," he said. Finally, he sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Alright, I'll give him a chance. And like I said before, I like him very much. Perhaps this will all work out for the best and you'll have a mate when we return, eh?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "You sound like Tanya," I complained lightly, but gave him a quick hug and bounded back over to Garrett. Swinging my legs up, I returned to my former position, and my magical night played out until the first rays of golden dawn.


	5. Chapter 5

Once we roused all the vampires from wherever they had been and we prepared to make our way to the field that Edward said Alice had seen the Volturi arriving in, Garrett took me aside for a moment. "Is that what it's like?" he asked me, in a softer tone than I had ever heard him use before. I cocked me head, and Garrett knew he had to elaborate. "Last night, with Carlisle and Tanya and the others. Is that what it's like having a family?"

I nodded, smiling up at him. "Yes. And it's wonderful. It's one of the things I enjoy most about being a vampire. For all eternity, I'll be able to experience that joy of family with my sisters and cousins. I'll always know that happiness will never be out of my reach, and I'll always have someone there that I can count on, no matter what."

Garrett looked awestruck. "It's amazing," he whispered. "I didn't know that family could be so peaceful. I loved spending my time in it. None of them even made me feel like I was intruding, which I had been expecting. They were all so accepting of me, even with my diet. How do you manage such levels of compassion?"

At his words, I just laughed out loud. "I don't know if you've noticed, but it's kind of impossible not to like you, Garrett," I said. "You just have one of those personalities that draw people in. I was talking to Bella earlier, and she was astounded you hadn't found a coven before. I don't think it's so much about us being over compassionate, but just about liking each other. Like you said last night, we are still humane. We try our best to live actual lives, and it's so wonderful being able to do that. Sometimes, I wonder if every vampire in the world tried to live like we did, we would have no need for the Volturi, no more violence. And as much as I'd like to rip each of the Volturi members limb from limb, I wouldn't mind a little peace, especially with the impending situation."

"It was certainly the kind of joy I haven't felt in all my years," Garrett said. "Too much Beatles everywhere else," he joked, making me roll my eyes. The only thing Garrett really hated was anything British. Even after all these years, he resented them. He was an American, born and bred, literally.

"Come on," I said as the others started to take off. "I don't want to be left behind." So we took off together, racing towards the field. Garrett and I were both extremely fast, so we weren't too far behind everyone else. By unspoken consent, our race to see who would get there the quickest began. I pushed my legs as fast as they could go, and Garrett did the same. We often stole glances at each other, trying to glean which one of us was in the lead. As we reached the river, I took my opportunity.

I shifted so that I was running right ahead of Garrett, and when I was at the very brink of the water edge, I jumped, using his chest as a springboard. I relished in the feeling of my hair streaming behind me as I flew through the air. I landed gracefully on my feet on the other side, and had just barely taken off again when something collided with me.

Garrett. Of course. The force of his jump had sent him directly on top of me, and the momentum was enough for us to roll together quickly for a good while. And the entire time, we were laughing, lighting the woods up with the sounds.

Finally, we stopped, with him on top of me, something I wasn't overly thrilled about, but didn't really mind either. He grinned down at me, the same one that drove me crazy. I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing his head down so I could connect our lips. He responded enthusiastically, slipping one hand to the back of my head, the other at my waist. He forced my lips open impatiently, which I didn't fight at all, and slipped his tongue into my mouth, causing me to moan softly and pull him closer.

"Well, what do we have here?" an all too familiar, delighted voice asked. I detached myself from Garrett to see the grinning face of Emmett not far from us, Rosalie at his side, working to stifle a laugh. "I do believe if we were a couple seconds later, we would have walked into a very different scene, don't you think Rose?" Emmett was utterly too thrilled with the situation. "Well, don't let us stop you. Please, carry on. Thin out the forest a little."

"I'll make you a bet Emmett," Garrett said suddenly. His eyes flashed even more. "We fight, you and me. I win, and you shut up about me and Katie for the rest of the week. You win, you can say whatever you want." Emmett grinned at him. I was suddenly reminded of a story Edward told me about when Bella challenged Emmett to an arm wrestling match. I wondered if Garrett had heard the same thing I did and was drawing inspiration from it.

"You're on," Emmett said. Rosalie rolled her eyes at him, and I did the same in Garrett's direction. His only response was to wink at me. He let me up and I went over to stand by Rosalie.

Emmett and Garrett pounced on each other with the ferocity of lions. They were both grinning in crazy, almost maniacal ways. They were enjoying this way too much. I decided not watch, and instead turned to Rosalie.

"I can't wait until he's out," I said, and she smiled at her stomach, caressing it softly with one hand.

"Neither can I," she replied.

"Do you have preferences for the gender?" I asked. I had always wanted a girl if I was to have children. "And what about names?"

"I want a girl, but Emmett wants a boy," Rosalie explained. "For boys, we're discussing things like Jonathan, Max, or David. If it's a girl, we're naming her Rebecca, no question. That's always been my favorite name for a girl."

"Nothing crazy like Renesmee?" I asked, teasingly. Rose shook her head and laughed.

"What about you?" she suddenly asked. "If you were ever to have kids, what would you name them?"

The question took me by surprise. "I don't know," I answered honestly. "I never really thought I'd ever get kids before. I always wanted them, but there was just the little issue of not having a mate and all…"

"Well, you have Garrett now," Rosalie said softly, so that Garrett and Emmett wouldn't hear us over their fight. As I opened my mouth to protest I wasn't sure if we were officially mates yet, Rose cut me off. "Whatever you say, you can't deny that you love him, and I know he loves you as well. I see it in the way you look at each other. It's the same way Emmett looks at me. I honestly believe he'd follow you to the ends of the earth."

"It'd be nice if he'd tell me," I muttered. "But… I love the name Ethan, for a boy. And for a girl… Lena. Lena is just beautiful." Rosalie nodded in agreement, and then our heads were turned back in the direction of the fight as a loud, frustrated yell came from that area. Garrett had his arms around Emmett's head, with his foot planted on his back. Emmett was straining to free himself, but Garrett's grip on him was too strong. After another moment, Garrett let him free and came over to Rose and I.

"He'll leave us alone now," Garrett said. "But just to test him…" His voice trailed off as he took me into his arms and kissed me deeply. I enjoyed it entirely too much to fight back. Garrett reached for my legs, and then lifted them up and wrapped them around his waist. I suddenly pulled back.

"I'm not show and tell," I said, but smiled at him to let him know I was just teasing. I detangled myself from him, if somewhat reluctantly. Well, we were in public after all…

Emmett's face was seething. "You don't know how hard this is right now," he muttered. I threw back my head and laughed. Emmett had always been one of my favorite cousins; he was just so funny. No one could help but like Emmett.

"Come on, they'll be wondering where we've gone off to," Rosalie said. We all nodded and took off running toward the clearing, being the last ones to get there, but no one really seemed to notice.

The day passed with all of us apprehensive about what was coming tomorrow. We all know that it could be the death of us all. I for one, only hoped that I could take out a few Volturi with me before I went down in the end, preferably Jane. The sadistic witch needed a taste of her own medicine.

I had been having a discussion with Benjamin and Tia when it happened. Not too far away, I heard Garrett and Edward talking to each other. I didn't really mean to eavesdrop, but I my enhanced hearing had other plans.

"Their mother, for whatever reason, created an immortal child," Edward was saying. "The Volturi found them, of course, and ordered their destruction. But Aro decided to spare the lives of Kate and her sisters. They've never truly recovered from that. I don't even know the name of her mother, or her brother. They're always careful to think about other topics around me."

"I can't imagine what that must have been like for them," Garrett muttered. "Is that why she's so… closed off? It's like there's something inside her that deeply wounded, and she's protecting it from further harm. The expense is that she hardly let's anyone in. I only got through to her yesterday, and even still, I feel like she's holding back, always on her guard." Was I? I had thought I was giving Garrett everything I could… but perhaps there were things that I thought I couldn't give to him, things that should be given. I was inexperienced at true love. I didn't know how it worked.

"She will hold back, until she's absolutely positive that you'll be with her until the ends of time," Edward said. "And that won't be until after tomorrow's events, at the very earliest. Kate was very deeply hurt when Laurent left Irina. He was a nomad as well, and he visited the Denali's. Irina and he were close, on their way to becoming mates. He came down here as a favor to an old friend in a plot to end Bella's life. The werewolves killed him, and when Irina learned, she was devastated. It was hell for Kate to watch her sister experience that. And, there's something else you should know about her…" I was straining my ears at this point, determined not to miss a single word of their conversation.

"When the Denali sisters became vegetarians, Tanya is adamant that it saved Kate's life, or at least, her humanity. You've seen her gift. I wasn't there, so I can't prove that what Tanya has told me is the truth or not, but I have no reason to distrust her. She said that Kate was so depressed without someone to comfort her and tell her it would be alright, which was her mother previously, that she was becoming savage. As she was feeding, she'd shock her victims entirely senseless, and neither Tanya nor Irina could touch her at all. She has the ability to control her gift, she just chose not to. You know firsthand the potency of her gift, and the destruction she could have wrought with it. Vegetarianism was the lifeline she held onto to save herself from becoming a monster. Tanya had to take on the role of an older sister become the leader of her coven. Kate doesn't want to be the leader. She wants to feel needed and important, yes, but never be the leader. Tanya has also told me that Kate has become increasingly lonely in her millennia of life, even though she'll never admit it to herself. Tanya has taken a few vampire lovers, but that has never interested Kate. She wants something permanent. And she's terrified of things being taken away from her when she desperately wants them. Trust me, these thoughts have run through her mind multiple times, especially over the past few days, though I don't think she acknowledges their presence. The point I'm getting to, Garrett, is that she needs someone strong. She can take care of herself, undoubtedly, and she would have you believe that she doesn't need anyone. But she craves others. She craves love, and children. She craves someone who will love her, for her, and be her rock when she needs it. She won't ask for that role often, but when she needs it, she _needs_ it."

"I understand," Garrett said. "And I want to be that person that she'll let take care of her every once and a while. Everyone needs love. That's something she's taught me. She's also taught me that we're capable of humanity. There's nothing more amazing than the feeling of family, I've discovered. And I want you to know that there is nothing, _nothing, _that I've cared about more than Katie."

"I know," Edward said, laughing lightly. "And I should just warn you now, you hurt my baby cousin, you'll have a whole line of vampires wishing to rip your face off, and that's assuming she doesn't do the deed herself first. Even though she's older than everyone but Tanya, we all would like to think of Kate as our baby cousin, seeing how protective we are of her. We all want her happiness."

"As do I," Garrett said. "But I have to wait until tomorrow to tell her... well, you know. It would just be cruel if I told her today and we ended up dying tomorrow. That would be hell on anyone's conscience."

"I agree with that decision," Edward said. "But if all goes smoothly, you have to tell her, first thing tomorrow, if you want any chance of working everything out with her." There was a bit of silence, where I assumed Garrett nodded. I heard footsteps approaching me, and I knew immediately they were Garrett's but I had some serious sorting out of thoughts that I had to do. I took off running, into the trees, without a clear idea of where I was going. I just needed to run.

Did I really need someone strong to look after me? I immediately wanted to answer that question with a clear no, but I doubted myself. I loved children, and had secretly dreamed of a mate. I could take care of myself just fine, but I wanted someone there beside me, someone to hold onto when times became difficult, or when there was pain. I wanted a hand I could hold.

Edward knew all this. He had seen into my thoughts that I had buried deep within the recesses of my mind but had been slowly making constant appearances. And apparently, he thought that whatever Garrett and I had was strong enough that he felt the need to tell Garrett. He wanted to make sure Garrett knew how to deal with me, or at least an explanation for why I acted the way I did. Edward could read minds. He believed Garrett when he had said that there was nothing he cared about more than me. Garrett's actions proved that anyway. He had spoken to Edward about me, so he would know why the wound Sasha had left would never really go away. And now, there was no denying it. I was in love with Garrett. Truly in love with him. And as much as it scared it the hell out of me, there was a happiness in me that I had never experienced before. All because of Garrett.

I wanted to run back to him, to tell him that I loved him. But I thought of how the Volturi would come tomorrow. I thought of how we might be killed, or just one of us. How cruel would I be to give him that hope, and then have a strong chance of it being taken away from us?

Oh, but I still wanted to, before our times were done. Wanted to tell him how much he has been my salvation. Wanted him to know how much I care about him.

But Garrett wanted to be _my_ strength. I needed to prove to him that I could accept it, no matter how much my pride recoiled away from the idea. If I wanted to be with Garrett, I would have to swallow a bit of my pride. I was willing to do that, if the reward was Garrett. I'd let him talk to me first, before I told him what he meant to me. Let him take initiative.

I heard footsteps through the woods, the voices of Garrett and Tanya calling out my name. I made a split second decision to find Tanya first. She had to know, out of everybody, that I loved Garrett. Tanya and I would stick together until the end, and hopefully, Irina would join us tomorrow, if fate worked in our favor.

I ran until I found Tanya, which wasn't very long. She immediately ran up to me once she saw me. "OK, why the hell did you run away when Garrett was going to talk to you?"

"I had to sort out my thoughts about him," I said impatiently. "And Tanya… I realized that I love him. I actually fell in love with him."

Tanya was stunned silent for a moment, a true rarity. Then she started with her old babble, which I braced myself for. "Oh my God, Kate, finally you admit it to yourself! I mean, it's been obvious to all of us that you did, and I knew that the hardest person you'd have to convince would be yourself, but it's wonderful that you finally did! You have to go tell him, right now-"

"No!" I said quickly, cutting her off. "I know he wants to be that person who's going to be strong for me, or whatever, so he's got to take initiative. I want to show him that I have a soft side." I was just mumbling by the end. Tanya knew better than anyone that I broke down occasionally, but that still didn't like admitting that I even had a soft side to anyone. If we were all lucky, only Garrett would have access to that secret part of me.

Tanya nodded. "Fine, I can respect that. But you better tell him sometime before tomorrow. I mean, honestly, Kate, could you have picked a worse time to admit that to yourself? Of course, you probably wouldn't be Kate if you didn't," she added in a resigned voice. I smiled at her.

"I always did have the worst timing," I said. Tanya chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Come on, we better find him. I don't want to waste another second without him. Not when time has suddenly become so precious." Tanya nodded again and gave me a small push.

"Go," she whispered. "And Kate?" I turned to look back at her. "I'm so happy you finally found him," she said. I smiled back at her and ran forward to hug her.

"Thank you so much for always having my back," I whispered. "And for always caring for me. I could never have asked for a better sister, Tanya." Tanya laughed lightly, and then shooed me away again.

"Go!" she repeated from earlier. "Don't worry about me, find your man. I've been with you for a millennium. Garrett has some catching up to do. At least give him the damn opportunity."

"Don't have to tell me twice," I said, and then sprinted off as fast as I could, following Garrett's scent. In almost no time at all, I could see him, and I jumped, meaning to land on his back, but of course, Garrett sensed me. He turned and caught me in his arms, pulling me close.

"You ran away from me," he whispered into my hair. He wasn't using an accusatory tone, just a slightly questioning one.

"I just had to sort out some thoughts," I said. He raised one eyebrow, asking me if he was ever going to get to know, and I laughed. "Yes, you'll get to know, in time. Not right now."

"Well, that's a better answer than I was hoping for, actually," he said, laughing. I laughed lightly along with him, and then raised my face up to his, capturing his lips with mine. I twisted one hand into his hair like I always did, and the other I rested on his neck. Suddenly spurred by something that had happened earlier, I raised my legs and threw them around his waist. One of Garrett's hands remained on my back, but the other went around to grip my thigh.

Garrett moved away from my mouth only to trail soft kisses down one side of my neck, and back up again, exploring my face with his lips. He planted his lips around my jaw, on my eyes, and on the tip of my nose before gently kissing my lips one last time. I buried my head into his shoulder and pressed him even closer to me. All I wanted in that moment was Garrett. He's all that mattered.

How long we stayed there, I didn't know. But for whatever length of time, it was truly bliss. Our positions didn't change at all. We just loved each other, in the simplest way possible. He held me, I held him. It was simple as that. The world ceased to go around. Garrett was the gravity holding me down.

When Tanya came to get us, night had fallen. I loved the night. There was nothing more serene to me than the twinkling of stars up above and a cool breeze. Of course, it considerably a bit colder than a simple breeze, due to the thick layer of snow on the ground, but I didn't mind. Garrett kept me warm.

"Have you really been here all day?" she asked, then, without waiting for an answer, she continued. "We've all set up a campfire for tonight. Carlisle wants to make sure everyone's there. I think he was planning on thanking us all individually for being there tomorrow, which I'd actively like to avoid. He really should expect this of us. We're family. But anyway, we've got to go! Word is the Romanians are actually going to explain their grudge against the Volturi and why their skin is so papery. I'd kill to know that!"

"We're coming Tanya, calm down for half a second," I laughed, unwinding my legs from Garrett's waist and dropping to the ground. Together, the three of us ran back to a section of the woods right off the edge of the clearing where Benjamin had just started a fire. I heard Jacob sarcastically ask if we were all about to share old stories or just stand like statues. Garrett heard too, because he got that devilish grin on his face and ran over to sit on one of the logs that made a semi-circle around the fire. He immediately started talking about battle's he'd been involved in during the Revolutionary War. Rolling my eyes, I ran over to him, sat myself on his lap, and remarked about the Battle of Constantinople that I'd seen, years before Garrett was even born.

"You just have to one up me, don't you?" he asked quietly, so that only I could hear. I laughed in response, and his arm wound its way around my waist. Throughout the night, stories were traded back and forth, and soon, all of us except Carlisle and Edward (who were conversing off to the side), and Bella and Nessie (Bella was tucking Nessie into her sleeping bag in the tent that was brought for her) were part of the circle, grasping onto this one piece of normality before the utter hell that was sure to come tomorrow. Normality was a precious gift in the calm before the storm. With Garrett, it made the seconds count a thousand times more.

When I had first come to Forks, it had been to witness Nessie's growth. But when it became almost certain that the Volturi would attack (why else would Alice leave?), I had to figure out what I was fighting for. The answer had come to me instantly. I was fighting for my family, most specifically Irina. I wanted my sister back more than anything. But as the days drew ever nearer, Garrett became another reason why I would fight. I didn't want our time together to be cut short. I wanted to spend another millennium with him. I would fight for my chance to begin a life with him.


	6. Chapter 6

The sky lightened from an inky night to a pale gray as the morning sprung up on us. As one, we looked to the clearing in which something that would decide our futures would take place.

The determination was palpable in the cold air that morning. Suddenly, I could just feel that no one was going to let the Volturi rule over us. We would stand free from their looming threats, until the day they burned our bodies, even if that was today. Nothing could ever tear apart my family. The Denali's and the Cullen's would stand together as one combined front. Eleazar had been right. We formed true family bonds. And we had added three new members in the past couple months. Bella and Nessie, of course, and Garrett. I considered him a part of my family. He proved that by standing with our coven in our lineup. He had been grasping my hand as we had made our way over, and he refused to leave my side. I was right between my sister and Garrett. The two people I cared most about would never abandon me. We would stand by each other until the very end. My own small rebellion against the Volturi. I would be happy, defying all their hopes as to why they came today. They could burn my body, but my sheer contentment in what I had that they didn't would live on forever.

"The redcoats are coming, the redcoats are coming," Garrett muttered as we began to see the edge of black cloaks at the edge of our vision. I rolled my eyes at him in response, but didn't deny the smile that placed itself on my lips. That smile disappeared as I saw just how many vampires were with the Volturi. They clearly outnumbered us, even counting the wolves we'd allied with.

I also saw my sister. Irina had no black cloak, but the usual clothes that she wore. I wanted to run up to her, to scream at her to come back to us, where she belonged. Irina needed to come home!

Tanya and I each let out a small noise, causing Edward to look back at us, just in case we might decide to run off and try and bring Irina back to us. But that would only result in the deaths of us all. Aro would no doubt announce that we would be attacking, and we'd be met with the same response. So we must wait. Wait and see if they would stop and listen to the Cullen's testament and see the truth from Renesmee. If not… then I wouldn't hold back. I would rip each of their heads off, in fury for destroying Sasha, for taking Irina from me, for not letting her come back to us, from trying to take Garrett, Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, and the Cullen's from me as well. With my power, they would be the weak ones. They would be the ones writhing in pain, begging for death before I would mercifully grant it to them.

"Easy Kate," Edward murmured. He motioned to Carlisle to begin speaking. "It's the only chance you'll have," he said.

When Carlisle stepped forward, I caught sight of Bella's face. Her expression was one of concentration, and then slight astonishment. I didn't know how I knew, but somehow, I knew her gift had spread to envelop us all. It was like a warm blanket washing over us. With her gift, the Volturi really would be the weak ones. Jane and Alec couldn't incapacitate us. If we needed it, we could have a chance. Zafrina could blind them. They would be powerless.

Carlisle and Aro exchanged some words, Carlisle attempting to convince his old friend of Renesmee's innocence. Aro gestured for Edward to come forward, knowing that he couldn't read Bella's thoughts. I assumed even Aro couldn't pretend he didn't find Edward's thoughts about Nessie proof that she was indeed half immortal, half human. Nessie and Bella went forward so Nessie could give Aro her own form of proof. Could we really get out of this, alive and well?

My heart sank, however, when Caius called Irina forward. I knew he had been waiting to kill my sisters and I ever since we had escaped them in Slovakia. I had a horrible feeling as he questioned her, and then she said the words I had been dreading. "I take full responsibility for my mistake."

At my side, Tanya was a mirror image of me, a statue frozen with fear. So frozen that when she was ripped apart and burned by Caius, it took my mind a moment to register what had happened.

"_Irina!_" Either me or Tanya had uttered the screech; I couldn't tell which. My mind had shut off. All I could see was Caius, that triumphant smile on his face as he eradicated an enemy a millennium old. He took my sister from me! He took her! He had to pay. I would rip him apart just like he ripped apart my sister. No one could stop me.

I felt a hand touch my arm, but I generated as much shock as my body could produce from the area, and the hand jerked back. Another hand grabbed me, pulled me to the ground, and I heard whoever's body it was crumple as I sprung back up. Caius was coming closer, and I could almost smell the burning ashes of his body.

Another body tackled me from behind so that we fell into the snow, and even though I generated so much shock that I heard his sounds of pain, he never let go of me. His arms were locked around my torso, pinned to the ground, so that I couldn't get them away from me. But I couldn't stop fighting. I wouldn't stop, not until Irina was avenged. Not even Garrett's arms around my body could keep me away from her now.

Suddenly, my eyesight was taken away from me. I saw nothing but an empty blackness. Zafrina! But I could still feel Garrett's arms around me, and I knew I had to keep fighting.

"Give me my sight back!" I heard Tanya wail, from much further back than me. They must have been able to stop her earlier than me. She didn't have my gift, though I didn't doubt her determination for Caius' destruction. She was the only one who understood.

And then something even stranger happened. Even blind, I could tell that I was still exerting as much electricity as I could. I was still trashing, trying to escape. But Garrett seemed in complete control again. He got a firmer grip around me, and was no longer screaming in pain. My shocks were having no effect on him whatsoever. I didn't understand it, and I trashed all the harder because of it. And then the answer hit me. Bella. She must have been able to take the protection of her shield from me while keeping Garrett underneath it. Damn her. I suddenly wished I hadn't pushed her so hard while I was training her.

"If I let you up, will you knock me down again, Katie?" I heard Garrett whisper in my ear. I gave him no response except a snarl, still trying to get away from him. Couldn't he tell this is what I wanted, what I needed?

"Listen to me, Tanya, Kate," Carlisle's urgent but somewhat soothing whisper came. "Vengeance doesn't help her now. Irina wouldn't want you to waste your lives this way. Think about what you're doing. It you attack them, we all die."

I wanted to keep fighting, ignore Carlisle, and run towards Caius, even blind. But in my core, I heard and understood the truth of his words. In my blind rage, I might have managed to kill some Volturi, but ultimately, their controlled grace would eventually overwhelm me and my family. I would be sentencing them all to die.

Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, Bella, Nessie, Rose and Emmett's unborn baby. All their faces, the faces of my family, flashed into my mind, disappearing as quickly as they came. Some lasted longer than others, such as Tanya and Carlisle. But ultimately, my mind came to rest on Garrett. He would die right along with the family that had been, supposedly, completed for a century. My death would send him into his own blind rage, ultimately condemning him. Who was I to take that life from him? Who was I to take life from anyone gathered here? I stopped fighting against Garrett, finally letting myself hear his words.

"Katie, I know how much pain you're in right now, but you have to fight it. This is what Caius wants. He wants to kill you and your sister too. Don't give up your life so easily by giving in to his wishes. Honor Irina by defying him. It's what she would have wanted, I just know it. Listen to your heart Katie. You know what you have to do to honor her."

Garrett's words rung with the truth that I didn't want to admit. Irina wouldn't want us to attack Caius and do what he wanted, but to stand against him by doing nothing. I knew this. Part of me still wanted to ignore the advice of Carlisle, Garrett, and Irina, but a larger, stronger part of me knew it was right to do one last act of defiance in Irina's memory. I wouldn't give in to Caius. I would defy him for Irina.

But I couldn't hold back the choked sob that wracked its way through my body. As Garrett pulled me in even closer, my eyesight was restored and I could see Aro's and the hated Caius's incredulous faces. In the very back of my mind, I was astonished myself about Garrett's resistance. I had been shocking him for quite a while before Bella managed to extricate her shield from me. Small sobs along with tears that couldn't come continued to escape me at irregular intervals. Garrett tightened his arms around my body again, but this time he was pulling me closer. He glanced at Edward for a moment, who nodded slightly. At the sign, Garrett slowly pulled me to my feet, keeping his arms around me. I rested my head on his chest for a combination of support and restraint. Still, I wouldn't stop myself from glaring at Caius with the stare that I had spent centuries perfecting. My glare was powerful. Tanya jokes all the time about how my real talent isn't electroshocks, but a glare powerful enough to drive anyone away. Caius met my stare for a small while, but eventually, it was like he couldn't bear my glare anymore. He got an odd expression on his face, and hurriedly looked away, suddenly completely immersed as Aro interrogated Amun and Siobhan. I smiled to myself slightly. Any discomfort that I could cause Caius was enormously satisfying.

But as Aro questioned whether or not Renesmee posed danger to the existence of our kind, something about his tone of voice or an errant thought unnerved Edward so strongly that a growl escaped even his controlled throat. I didn't like the tone of voice Aro had at all, as if he still meant to find a crime to punish us for. Caius's eyes brightened dangerously, and then Garrett mostly released me, keeping one arm around my waist. I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to bring him back to safety, to me. The whole situation suddenly seemed more dangerous. If Garrett took any unnecessary risks that would get him killed, I was going to kill him.

"Relax, Kate," he whispered. "I know what I'm doing."

"You better," I hissed back. I was determined not to lose anyone else today, especially not Garrett. No one would be able to hold me back if that happened. I would be unstoppable, and much too far buried in grief to be even slightly consolable this time.

"May I offer another side to be considered?" Garrett's voice came suddenly, breaking me out of my worst nightmare, only to try and stop it from becoming a reality. He called out the Volturi for their true intentions, told everyone what we already knew: Aro and Caius were looking for any excuses to kill us. Garrett referred to us as a family. He knew what we were, he had had his first glimpse of the family we had a couple nights ago. He spoke to the nomads the Volturi had brought with them, trying to get them to see the truth. And he spoke to all about how we as a family were threats to the Volturi, that because we had a true bond from our decision to abstain from the blood of humans, we were the true power of the vampire world. And because of that, Aro saw us as a threat. He also proclaimed that he would fight with us if it came to that, and that if we fell, the Volturi would go with us. The entire time, he kept one hand loosely around my waist. He still knew that I wanted to go after Caius. If it came to a fight, he would let me go, but he didn't want to take chances with me in my fragile state. I could tell. When he was done, he wrapped his arms around me, and I put my head back on his shoulder, much for the same reasons as before, and also for his protection this time. He just majorly pissed off Aro, but Aro would have to withstand my gift to get to Garrett.

"I'm going to kill you," I muttered when Aro conversed with Charles and Makenna. "You just got on Aro's bad side. You just got far on Aro's bad side. That was so stupid, I can't even begin to tell you-"

"But they're leaving, Katie," Garrett said, cutting me off. I turned my gaze back toward the Volturi's group of witnesses, and sure enough, quite a few had taken off. They wouldn't fight with us, but they had witnessed for us.

"You're still not off the hook," I muttered. And then I recognized that my fear had taken a temporary leave of absence while bantering with Garrett only when it returned. Aro, Caius, and Marcus had begun their counsel, and then would cast their vote as to whether to attack or retreat.

Garrett had to have finally realized the very real threat, for he lifted my chin up so that I was looking at him straight in the eye and said the thing I had been waiting to hear since I met him. "If we live through this, I'll follow you anywhere, woman." And just because of the awful irony of his timing, of the situation we were in, I couldn't resist raising one of my eyebrows at him and turning to Tanya.

"Now he tells me," I muttered in her direction. She rewarded me with a faint ghost of a smile in my direction. I turned back to Garrett, again unable to resist the smile that instantly appeared on my lips. His words meant so much more than the literal meaning, and we both recognized that. By following me, Garrett just promised to commit to our lifestyle. He promised that he was going to become part of the family that he had envied earlier. And he would do so as my mate. I, Kate Denali, after a millennium of unnoticed frantic searching, had finally found the one person that I could call mine, that I would always love unconditionally. But of course, it was right as our lives were about to end. Typical.

I sounded so much like Bella and Edward that I mentally slapped myself for it, but I finally understood their almost blind, psychotic devotion to one another. I could understand why Emmett and Rosalie had taken an entire decade to behave like utter fools. The sweet tastes of love made one giddy, frivolous, and ecstatic to be in the presence of the one you loved even the most dire of situations. New, budding romance took root in me, and if I lived beyond today, it would last for years, years that could actually be happy with Garrett beside me. Garrett was what was holding me to the earth now. It was always Garrett.

I pressed my arms tighter around his back, pressing myself as tightly as I could against him. I would never let him go, never again. The only words I felt compelled to say was to claim Jane as my opponent, and only when the fighting really began would I release Garrett, and even then I would make sure he was at my side at all times. I wouldn't lose him. Tanya would fight with me as well. We had to avenge Irina together. Of course, before the Volturi made their vote, Aro reminded Bella, Benjamin, Zafrina, and I that we could join him if we so wished. "When the fires of hell freeze as cold as your heart," I whispered when he said this, causing Garrett to chuckle.

But the fight that I was prepared for never came. As Aro was about to cast his vote, something completely unprecedented happened. Alice, Alice, Alice came! Alice and Jasper came! They came back to us! And they had brought a half immortal, half human.

His name was Nahuel, and he was just like us. Just like the vampire children, but who grew at a faster rate and didn't need a bite from his parents to cease growing. He wasn't a danger at all. And Nessie wouldn't be either. In our hearts, we all knew that.

And Alice showed Aro something, something that unnerved him. I could see it in his face. She said something to him so low even my advanced hearing couldn't pick up on it. But a change came over Aro's face; that much was obvious. Alice had utterly terrified him with her thoughts, probably one of her visions. She had just saved our lives.

Aro turned back to Caius and Marcus, trying to fake a smile of control so as not to upset his guard. "Brothers, we do not fight today," he said, somewhat calmly with hints of a frantic tone in his feathery voice. Caius, of course, was furious, but Aro quelled his rage and as one, the Volturi stalked back through the forest, hateful looks on some of their faces, like Jane. Only Aro looked back, staring intently at Alice. "Such a prize," he said lightly, but loud enough for all of us to hear.

We all held our breaths, not daring to believe they'd really left us alone. Then out of the silence, Alice's laugh came as a wind chime of bells. "Seriously, people. They're not coming back. Everybody can relax now."

The cheers were deafening. Kisses and hugs were everywhere I could see. I was thrilled that no more lives were going to be lost, but I couldn't join in. The one person who had died here today meant more to me than anyone. Irina, my sister, had died to protect us. I stared at the pile of ashes the Volturi had left. The fire had gone out by now, a black, crumbling pile that used to be my sister was an unnecessary blot on the white landscape. I stretched my hand out towards it, but was lifted in the air before I could take one step.

A short, high pitched noise escaped my throat from surprise. I looked down to see Garrett, smiling up at me as he turned me in a circle. He set me down gently after that, and pressed me against his chest once again. One of his arms left from around my body, and I turned to see that he was pulling Tanya closer. The tears that we couldn't cry were plain on our faces. She put one arm around me, and I did the same, leaving my head on Garrett's chest. Carmen, who had previously been locked in Eleazar's arms, came over to stand by us, putting one her arms around Tanya as well. Eleazar was on Carmen's other side. As one coven, as one family, we turned to Irina's place of death. We walked over slowly.

Tanya and I didn't want a funeral for her. It was an unspoken truth between us. A funeral would hurt too much. Still, I couldn't just leave the place where she had died so needlessly with no marker to commemorate her. I looked at Tanya, and we agreed with what we wanted with one meeting of our golden eyes.

"Benjamin," we called as one. Quickly, the Egyptian came over, along with Tia. Tanya and I explained to him with quick words our request. He nodded, burgundy eyes suddenly somber. Over the weeks, we had made good friends with Benjamin and Tia. They were both saddened by our loss, and Benjamin needed no persuasion to meet our needs.

Using his powers of manipulation over the earth, Benjamin caused a large rock to come over and settle over the place Irina lost her life. Words were quickly inscribed on the rock, simple words, but powerful ones. It was all Tanya and I could manage.

TO IRINA DENALI, BELOVED SISTER, DAUGHTER, AND FRIEND. MAY THE WORLD HONOR HER AND REMEMBER THE POWER SHE DARED TO DEFY. YOU WILL FOREVER BE LOVED.

Tanya and I pressed our fingers to our lips and placed them over Irina's name. Carmen fell to her knees and lowered her head, as if in prayer. Eleazar put his hand on her shoulder, his eyes closed. And Garrett… he was my rock. He kept his arms around me the entire time, resting his chin on the top of my head. He didn't try to offer condolences, and I didn't want them. What I needed was to borrow his strength for a moment, just so I could make it through saying goodbye. He gave me what I needed.

Tanya was stronger than I was when it came to this. She was stronger as Sasha's death as well. While Irina and I were in deep grieving, Tanya was the one who managed to take responsibility and lead us. Tanya was the one who discovered that we could keep ourselves fed off of the blood of animals. Tanya was the one now who could tackle this tragedy on her own. Carmen and Eleazar needed each other, and I needed Garrett. Tanya was strong enough to do this on her own, with no one but me to offer her comfort. I envied her strength. My older sister was amazing. I was so lucky to have her.

We stayed there for a few moments more, but then we couldn't take any more. Tanya and I left abruptly, but I vowed to always remember my sister, even if I should live another millennium. Irina would be immortal in my thoughts.

We rejoined the rest of the celebrating Cullen's and the other allies just a small ways away. They were still rejoicing in the snow. Some, like Carlisle and Esme, had seen what we'd done, but they knew their respects must be offered later. That moment was for the Denali family. As much as we loved our cousins, we Denali's had to take a moment for ourselves.

When we reached them, however, Carlisle and Esme took Tanya into their arms. Carmen resettled into Eleazar. Esme tried to pull me in as well, but I stepped back. She gave me a knowing smile, fully understanding what I craved, what I needed in that moment. I turned around as quickly as I could with Garrett's arms still around me, so I could look him full in the face.

No words were needed. All he had to do was lean closer to me, and I responded. Our lips met with a gentle need, moving slowly against each other. As always, my hands fisted into his hair, and his were at my waist. We were beautiful. He was beautiful. And he was all mine, never to leave my side again. He promised.

"Seriously, you two?" I heard Tanya say. She was staring at us with sarcastic annoyance. "I said no face sucking in front of me. I get we're all celebrating and all of that happy stuff, but that's just nasty. Stop making a scene."

And because I knew Tanya and I could never even begin healing unless we regained a sense of normality in our relationship with each other, I kissed Garrett hard on the lips, making a smacking sound when I was done. Tanya rolled her eyes at me, and then a small chuckled miraculously escaped from both our lips.

"Why do I have the feeling that these two are going to be worse than Rosalie and Emmett and Bella and Edward combined?" Tanya complained, as everyone else laughed, and even I smiled.

"They didn't have to wait an entire millennium to find each other," I all but growled, making Garrett laugh. I glared up at him. "You kept me waiting for much too long." His only response was to laugh louder, which I pretty much expected. His constant laughter brightened my spirits considerably, one of the first things that had drawn me to him.

In a brief time span, we were packed and ready to head out. The constant celebration was already beginning to wear down on Tanya and I. We needed to get back to our peaceful home in Denali, where it wasn't so crowded or so frantic.

Still, we were one of the last ones to leave. I saw Benjamin whisper something in Garrett's ear before he and Tia left, and Garrett grinned and nodded in response. I had asked him what Benjamin had talked to him about, but Garrett had just said I would find out in time. He hadn't owned much before, just one bag with a few spare changes of clothes, and it easily fit into the trunk of the Mercedes. The Cullen's came out to give us their goodbyes, with promises that we would see each other soon. Nessie demanded it of us, and Rosalie begged us to be there for the birth of her baby. We gave both of them our promises.

Finally, we were ready to pile into the car and go back home, when all of us could tell that Alice suddenly was having a vision. Her eyes went blank for a moment, and we all feared the worse, but when she came back to us, she had a radiant smile on her face.

"Go on," she said. "And Garrett?" He instantly turned back around. Alice smiled at him. "You look good with golden eyes. They suit you."

Garrett's eyes sparkled with wonder at her words. Mine too, glistened with sheer happiness. Garrett would stay with us, forever. He would be able to overcome the hard transformation to a vegetarian. He would succeed, and stay with me. Alice's gift was priceless, too precious to put into words.

"Thank you," he whispered. Alice just nodded in her happy way, delighted to be back with her family. Final goodbyes were said, last minute hugs we given, and finally, we were all loaded up in Tanya's car, quickly going back home.


	7. Chapter 7

In the Mercedes, it had a neat little feature that Tanya had installed in the front, where in between the driver and the passenger, there was an optional seat one could sit in. You simply had to lift up the back, and there was a seatbelt that came down from the ceiling. Carmen sat there now, leaning against Eleazar, who was in the passenger side. Tanya was driving, always reluctant to let anyone touch her beloved car. That meant Garrett and I had the entire back seat to ourselves. He was lying out across the seats, me resting on top of him, my cheek pressed against his chest. He rubbed small circles into my back, still comforting me. I remembered what he had said to Edward about wanting to be there for me when I needed it, and how terrified I had always been of needing others. But here, I knew Garrett had come at exactly the right time. I wouldn't have survived Irina's death if he was not here right beside me. I did need him to be my strength during this time. Fate did indeed have a cruel sense of ironic humor.

"Hey, Kate, it's your song," Tanya teased up front, in a softer voice than she normally would have used, but it was teasing nonetheless. She turned up the radio, and I rolled my eyes to the song. Of course Tanya would find this hilarious. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri was playing, oddly enough describing my situation with Garrett.

_Heart beats fast/colors and promises/how to be brave/how can I love when I'm afraid to fall/ watching you stand alone/all of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow/one step closer/I have died everyday waiting for you/darling don't be afraid/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more/time stands still/beauty in all she is/I will be brave/I will not let anything take away/what's standing in front of me/every breath/every hour has come to this/one step closer/I have died every day waiting for you/darling don't be afraid/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more/and all along I believed I would find you/time has brought your heart to me/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more/one step closer/one step closer/I have died every day waiting for you/darling don't be afraid/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more/and all along I believed I would find you/time has brought your heart to me/I've loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more._

I hummed along with the song, admitting it was sort of a perfect explanation. In my own way, I have loved Garrett for the thousand years I have spent on this earth. I didn't know he existed, but I'm certain I would have fallen for him at any time in my life. And I definitely planned to love him for however long we had left, be it a thousand years or more. I knew better than anyone that forever had limits, and I knew how precious every minute was. I wasn't willing to waste any of them without Garrett beside me.

"You should have sang along," Garrett said. I raised my eyebrows up at him.

"I don't sing," I said quickly. It was only a half lie; I didn't sing when anyone else was around. Perhaps, if everyone else was out hunting, I'd stick one of my CD's in and sing along, but the moment I caught their scents anywhere close to the house, my lips would shut tight, and no one was any wiser about my secret.

"The closest thing you'll get from Kate is humming," Tanya said. "In the millennium we've been together, I've heard her sing all of three times, I think, and none of them in the past century. But she does play her CD's often enough. You should be on your guard for those. Her preferred genre of music really is frightening. I don't know how she ever developed such a fascination for what she listens to, but she loves it."

"And this genre would be?" Garrett asked, smiling. I pressed my lips together, also in a small smile.

"You can find out when we get home," I said. And he would find out. I had CD's stacked up right behind my bed. There were piles of them accumulated from all the artists I had loved over the years. There were a few exceptions to my genre, but you really had to look for those exceptions. They were few and far between.

"Well as long as it's not anything British I don't think I'll have a problem with it," Garrett said, making me laugh lightly. For an unfathomable reason, I found his hatred of anything to do with Great Britain amusing. He truly was an American, born and bred. I promised him that my genre was nothing related to Great Britain. In fact, I don't think my style of music had a single British artist. It, like Garrett, was 100 percent American.

We rode on, mostly in silence for the rest of the way. Occasionally, Tanya would comment about a song on the radio relating to Garrett and I, and I'd roll my eyes in response (the most ridiculous time being when Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen came on). But Tanya and I were beginning to heal. It would be a long, arduous process, and we'd fall many times, break down, I could tell, but I also had faith that one day, we might just be able to move on. Not forget Irina, but live like she would want us to. Irina always wanted our happiness.

As the sky just began to grow dark, we reached out house, thanks to Tanya's speedy driving. There was a familiar think layer of snow on the ground, and the house looked inviting, reaching out to us. Tanya parked her car in the garage, and we all spilled out. Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar all ran inside, eager to reclaim home. Garrett, however, was slightly cautious, as I had suspected. I took his hand.

"I'll show you around," I said, leading him in. The garage led to the kitchen, rarely used, but sometimes one of us would sit on the counter and watch the TV we had placed in here. From the kitchen, to the living room, spacious, bright, not unlike the Cullen's in the sense that on one wall there was an enormous window that looked out into the forest that was our backyard. The trees were speckled with snow, with more soft flakes falling from the sky. Eleazar had already gotten a cozy fire started in the fireplace, and was now carefully placing the gate in front of it. He smiled when he saw the two of us. He was much more comfortable with Garrett being here than he was a couple days ago. I suspected it was largely because of how Garrett had been able to hold me back from attacking Caius and standing with us during the confrontation. He had proven himself part of the family. Carmen and Tanya, of course, loved him. It just confirmed my suspicions that Garrett had brought a very likeable personality as his strongest trait from his human life. The den led off from the living room, where a couple of us at a time would usually watch movies. We were all addicted to them, though we had differing tastes. Tanya loved romantic comedies, while I preferred action. The only rooms left on the first floor were Eleazar's study (he currently was working at the University of Alaska as a night professor; thankfully the confrontation had occurred over winter break) and a couple of rooms reserved for the Cullen's when they visited.

Upstairs, the first door we came to was Carmen and Eleazar's. Carmen was inside, unpacking, and she smiled at us warmly when she saw us, waving us inside. Their room was very cozy, painted a light blue, with a large bed complete with a white comforter (Carmen and Esme had similar decorating styles and color palettes). She gave us both hugs. "I never got to welcome you to the family properly," she said to Garrett. "And I know you've probably already gotten the threat before, but you better not hurt Kate. A hoard of angry vampires will be after you if you do."

"And Carmen doesn't usually threaten," I said. "But when she does, you better take her seriously. It takes a lot to make Carmen even think about resorting to violence."

"Don't worry, I plan on not ever making her need to keep her promise. And I've already gotten that threat from Tanya and Edward, and I'm expecting it from Eleazar in the next couple of days. It's just to be expected," Garrett said. "But I'm glad that you let me come. You have my most sincere thanks for that."

Carmen waved her hand. "In all the long years I've known our Kate, I've come to think of her like a sister. I've waited for someone to come along and soften her, love her the way she deserves. And I do believe that you're the best person for the job. You love her, and that's all that matters. That's all we've ever wanted for her. And it's a miracle in itself that you've managed to her to admit that she loves you as well. You've woken up something inside her we were beginning to think didn't exist."

"I was not _that_ cold, Carmen," I said. "You knew I could love. You, Eleazar, Tanya, Ir- I mean, the Cullen's. I have the capability. It just takes a lot to bring it out of me."

"Alright, I'll give you that one," Carmen said, laughing. She turned back to Garrett. "Anyway, I hope you enjoy yourself here. It might take some getting used to, but I believe that you'll come to love it. We all certainly do."

Garrett and I thanked Carmen, and continued. Tanya's room was next. Her door was closed, but we could hear her inside. I stopped to point the room out, but we didn't go inside. Judging from the near-deafening Aerosmith music that she'd already turned on, we figured Tanya wanted to be left alone at the moment.

Next was Tanya's bathroom. There was a larger one down the hall that we used to shower and bathe, but Tanya was like Alice in a way where she needed her own where she kept all of our makeup and hair things. I rarely used it, perhaps only lining my eyes lightly, but occasionally Tanya would sit me down and try out her new things on my face.

The bathroom separated my room from Tanya's. When I pointing it out, Garrett was a bit overly excited to see what it contained. He opened the door and made straight for my plethora of CD's.

"Let's see here," he said, teasing me slightly. He picked up a few at random. "Blake Shelton, Gretchen Wilson, Miranda Lambert, another Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley…." He looked back up at me, a wicked gleam in his eyes. I hadn't even bothered to try and stop him from looking through my CD's. He'd be living here with me anyway. "Is Miss Katie a fan of, dare I say it, country music?" Garrett asked sarcastically.

"Maybe, maybe not," I teased. I grabbed the CD's from him, sat on my bed and made sure to put them in the correct spots. I was easily obsessive compulsive about my music. They all had to be in a certain place. "And it's all American, isn't it? I'd love to see you try to find a British country artist."

"I don't mind country music Katie," he said, laughing. "It's better than some other crap I've heard, like rap music, God. I don't even believe I just called that music."

"Music's like candy, you throw out the rappers," I said once the CD's were all in place. Garrett laughed again as I lied down on the length of my bed, head propped up by an elbow. Garrett pointed at it, raising an eyebrow. Getting his innuendo, I reached up and slapped his arm.

"It's for _reading_," I said, immediately defending myself. "I prefer to do my reading here."

"Alright, Kate, I believe you," he said, laughing again. Suddenly, he had sprang onto the bed with me, rolling so that he hovered over me. Kissing followed immediately. It felt so right just to be there with him, loving him, having him love me. I wasn't lying when I said the bed hadn't been used for anything other than reading. But hopefully, sometime soon, it would have a different use intended for it.

Thank God Garrett didn't have Edward's power.

We kissed for a good while, but eventually, our lips disconnected. "Come on," I whispered. "I'll show you the rest of the house."

Somewhat reluctantly, we got up and went out of the room. He took my small hand in his much larger one, and we continued down the hall. And at the very end, there it was.

Irina's room. I slowly extended my hand, turning the knob. It was just like she had left it, meticulously neat, books arranged by author, Dickens being the most prominent name, and music styled the same way, Maroon 5 as her favorite. The bed was new, purchased only after she had met Laurent, and the colors of the walls a deep gold, fresh, for she had repainted it just a few weeks before her departure. And seeing it, the wound was refreshed in my chest, another knife pushed into the already new hole.

A sob escaped me, and immediately arms were put around me, but they weren't Garrett's familiar ones. Instead, Tanya was there, and she was crying invisible tears along with me. We made our way over to the center of the room, arms around each other, just taking the time we needed to cry, to mourn over our lost sister, over Irina.

We stayed there, unmoving, for two whole weeks.

* * *

"Katie?" a voice asked, after two weeks of absence. I made no moves to respond, still staring out the window of Irina's room. Tanya had left only moments earlier. Our time of deep mourning was almost over, though the whole process would no doubt last years.

I heard footsteps coming over to me. "Katie, come on, get up. You need to hunt. You haven't been for weeks now. I've let you wallow this long. You're not getting away with it any longer." When I still didn't respond, the voice let loose a low curse, then picked me up with strong arms.

And suddenly, I was staring up into Garrett's face. Either from the two week long separation or due to the fact that my mind was muddled at the moment, he looked even more beautiful than I remembered. Long brown hair hanging in face just slightly, concern in his ruby eyes, his tall physique… I had missed all of it. But Irina had taken precedence. Of course she would. She was my sister.

Garrett set me down on my own bed, where I managed to sit up, cross legged. He himself sat down in front of me, inspecting me, seeing if I was going to break down again. I very nearly did. Apparently, he could sense the turmoil still brewing in me, for he said, "Katie, I know how difficult this is for you, but-"

"You know nothing!" I shrieked. "You don't know what it's like to lose your sister, who you watched for the past few months deteriorate, knowing that there was nothing you could do to help her, watching her die for an offense made up just so a grudge a millennium old could be partially sated! You don't know!"

Garrett tried to grab my hands, to try and calm me down, but I shocked him and he jerked away. In that instant, I rose out of my bed, with every intent to go back to Irina's room and sit in my misery for a bit longer. Irina was dead! It was entirely wrong for me to feel even a shred of happiness.

"I don't know what it's like to lose a sister, but I do know what it's like to lose a brother!" Garrett shouted, desperate in his attempt to keep me here. I froze as my hand was on the doorknob and turned around slowly, the question clear in my expression.

Garrett sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "When I was human, I had an older brother named Levi," he said. "We had signed up for the army together, with every intention of driving the English back to their own lands. Levi was older than me by two years, and he was my idol. When I heard how high the death toll had been rising, I had always thought that I would be the one to get killed, if such misfortune would befall on us, rather than him. He was the more vibrant one, always reckless, always ready to fight for the country and the people he loved. He had a wife and a newborn baby girl, his little Sarah, that he left to fight for. He was supposed to be the one who went home. I'd rather he had been, to get back to his wife and daughter. One day we ran into some British troops while out scouting. There were barely twenty of us on either side, and our leader wanted to avoid battle. We made peace with the British, and thought we were going to get back safely. But as we turned our back, one little bastard fired his gun, right into Levi's skull. And after that, I couldn't control it. I was so filled with rage, I killed the man, stabbing through him with his own bayonet. And I had to be the one to bring the news to Elizabeth, his wife, and Sarah. Sarah's eyes starting watering, crying with her mom, but not old enough to understand that her daddy was never coming home." Garrett couldn't continue after that. The pain in his voice was so real, and it softened me. Slowly, I made my way toward him, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Garrett," I whispered. "Not only for your loss, but for what I said. You know better than anyone but Tanya what I'm going through. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

Garrett turned around and threw his arms around me. I hugged him back, as hard as I could. "I love you," I whispered into his ear.

"I love you too," he whispered back. No more words were needed. All we craved right now was to be held, to be loved, to have strength that exceeded what we had alone. Together was where we needed to be. Together we were so much more.

"Just trust me when I say that I can help you, please," he said. I only hesitated a moment before I nodded against his shoulder. He hugged me tighter for a moment, and then released me. "Come on, you have to hunt. Your eyes are completely black." I nodded again, finally acknowledging the thirst that had been prying at me for the past week.

We headed downstairs, and Garrett informed Carmen and Eleazar of where we were going. Apparently, Tanya had left for the same purpose just a few minutes before, and they knew better than to immediately try and console either of us. It would come, in time, but only when Tanya and I were ready to accept those condolences. It would be easier with Carmen and Eleazar. They missed Irina too. And they knew how to deal with Tanya and I tactfully.

Being out in the frigid Alaska air revitalized me. I breathed in a deep scent of it, the familiarity washing over me like a cozy blanket. I grabbed my hair in my fist and pulled it back loosely. My muscles loosened, ready to spring off into the forest. I looked back at Garrett to see if he was ready to join me.

"Kate," he said somewhat reluctantly, an odd expression on his face. I was immediately put on my guard, sure that I wasn't going to like whatever he was going to say. "If I get distracted by anyone during the hunt, you have to promise that you're going to shock and stop me. I can't afford to cheat at all if I'm going to commit myself to this. I can't afford to let it happen."

I wrinkled my nose. I didn't like the thought of ever having to shock him again. I still felt guilty about doing it when Irina was killed and just a few moments ago in my room, where my emotions and temper had gotten the best of me. But I also knew that Garrett wanted to commit himself entirely to the vegetarian lifestyle, and prolonging it only made it worse. "I don't think we're going to run into anyone," I said slowly. "But I'll do it if I have to. Just don't expect me to enjoy it."

"Well, that's why I fell in love with you, not Jane," Garrett said with a grin. I smiled back at him, and then like two springs that were just let loose, we flew off into the woods together, hunting senses prominent, searching for prey. I was searching for lynx, my favorite, and before long I caught the scent of a one. I also caught scent of its prey, a large caribou. Garrett, obviously, caught the same smells I did, because he said, "I bet I'll get the lynx before you," and the chase was on.

Garrett and I were almost evenly matched when it came to speed, which I wasn't used to. I had to push myself to my absolute extent if I even had a prayer of besting him. The lynx had just broken into a run after the caribou when we arrived, and as one, we pounced on it.

I just barely managed to grab it first and roll it away from Garrett. He snarled at me, but it was playful. I just bit into the neck of my kill in response, and Garrett left to kill the caribou. He was still having difficulty with drinking the blood of animals, I could see it in his expression. However, it was only his second time hunting this way. It would take a while to get used to the taste. He'd be fine soon. And anyway, Alice saw his eyes becoming gold. The first thing people learned after meeting Alice was to never, ever bet against her.

We each found a few more caribou and a couple more lynx, and by the end, I could tell that my eyes were back to my usual golden color. Garrett's eyes were still ruby, but I didn't expect a change so soon. It took Carmen and Eleazar three months of a strict vegetarian diet for their eyes to change to amber, and another three to switch completely to gold. I didn't know the exact timeline for myself, Tanya, and Irina, as the calendars weren't as accurate back then, but I was fairly certain the timeline was similar.

Sated, we returned home, to find Carmen, Eleazar, and Tanya waiting for us in the main room. We all exchanged smiles and I went to sit on the one of the three couches. Garrett sat next to me, sliding his arm around my waist. Tanya rolled her eyes good-naturedly at us. I just raised my eyebrows at her. We had long since perfected that method of communication.

"Yes, I know I was the one who was trying so hard to push you together, but that doesn't mean I can't roll my eyes every time you get all mushy like that. Like Rose and Emmett, you're going to make life hell for a decade. But I still love both of you!" she said, making a heart sign with her hands. I gave the same one back to her, with the added bonus of my trademark sarcastic smile.

"I'm just going to need a strong marathon of Nicholas Sparks' movies, and let's throw in _Titanic_ and _Romeo and Juliet_ as well, to get through you two. There love is so much more civilized," Tanya said, completely joking now, but also dead serious. She was truly addicted to those movies.

"Please. _Lord of the Rings_ is so much better. Give me action over romance, any day," I said.

"Well, the way things are heading with you two, I'd say that you're going to get both before long," Tanya said, with an absolutely straight face.

"Damn, Tanya, I didn't know you could get that naughty. Been hanging around Emmett too much?" I asked, as nonchalantly as I could, as Garrett, Carmen, and Eleazar roared with laughter. Banters between Tanya and I were often causes for laughter in the Denali household. Even at the Cullen's, with as many vampires there as the Volturi guard, almost everyone gathered if Tanya and I started our legendary arguments. And so the battle of wits commenced.

"I didn't have to," Tanya shot back. "All I had to do was pay attention to you for the past month. I don't think you realize how careless you get with your words around me, and I know you forget the fact that I don't need to be Edward to read your mind. I don't think I've heard you say a single sentence, or thought one for that matter, without Garrett's name in it since you met him. 'I wish Garrett would come over and talk to me,' 'Ugh, why do I want Garrett over here so bad,' 'Do I actually like Garrett?!,' 'No, no, Kate, you cannot like Garrett- oh God, he's looking over here. Talk to Tanya, don't make eye contact with Garrett,' and those were the _innocent_ things you had to say."

"It was impossible to get him out of my head while you were right next to me and bringing him up the entire time. 'Are you with Garrett yet?' 'Why are you talking to me? Go over and talk to Garrett,' 'God, Kate, just kiss him already, or I'll make you,' 'Please tell me that instead of just talking with him you were actually doing socially unacceptable things with him. No? God, Kate, _why not_.' If I started talking about, I don't know, Jasper or Carlisle like that to you, you wouldn't be able to get them out of your mind either. Yes, I love Garrett, but I'm not that crazy obsessed as you make me out to be," I said, thankful that I wasn't able to blush anymore. My cheeks would be inflamed red, because everything Tanya said was pretty much true. My only consolation was that every word that came out of my mouth was also true.

"Kate, you're the most stubborn person I've ever met. If I hadn't prompted you, you'd be here alone, and still going on about whether or not you should go after Garrett, and you'd be driving us all crazy. I mean, obviously you're still going to do that, but this is the lesser of two evils. I'd happily take this over you moping about and randomly asking us whether or not you and Garrett could have ever worked out."

"At least I didn't start planning a wedding of all things for my sister and a man she talked to once just because I thought they were 'just _too cute_ together,'" I said, raising my voice a couple octaves in a fake imitation of Tanya. "Nor did I-"

"Stop, stop, you're killing me!" Garrett roared from the floor. Apparently he'd fallen from the couch because he was laughing so hard. Carmen and Eleazar were clutching the mantle yes, but Garrett really was dying. It was a good thing he didn't need to breathe anymore, because he certainly wasn't doing any of that. In my thousand years on this planet, I don't think I've ever seen anyone laugh as hard as Garrett did then.

Tanya and I glanced at each other, daring the other to keep a straight face. Then, as one, we lost it as well, laughing harder than we had in a very long time. Garrett was just too much, and his laugh was contagious. The sight of a six foot two grown man on his back on the floor laughing like crazy was one of the most hilarious things I had ever seen. It might have been the first thing to stop Tanya and I mid-argument once we got started.

"Is he going to be alright?" Tanya gasped through her laughs. I just shrugged and continued laughing, thinking that in that moment, I was so glad to be a vampire. When I was a human and I laughed as hard as this (which was rare), I'd eventually end up snorting. It was completely awful and I was so glad that didn't happen anymore.

As it was, I was on my back on the couch, and misjudged how far back I was. I rolled over slightly just to see everyone else, and I ended up falling right on top of Garrett, sending us into a whole new wave of laughter, and causing Garrett to kiss me on the tip of my nose. I could have landed on my feet, of course, but didn't really feel like it. The sight of Garrett laughing was too irresistible. Tanya found it especially hilarious, which was to be expected. I suppose we really did remind her of some of her favorite movies, with the main protagonists ending up in clichéd positions in every single one. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she started referring to us as Rose and Jack from _Titanic_, her number one favorite movie, soon enough. She used to call Emmett and Rosalie Romeo and Juliet when they'd first gotten together, seeing as the movie _Titanic_ didn't exist then. Even the actress who played Rose had my name, something I had picked up from the countless times Tanya made me watch the movie with her.

"Hey, Jack, Rose, do you mind not giving us a show? If I wanted lovey-dovey, I would have asked," Tanya said, finally calming down, which of course just extracted yet another laugh from me, causing Tanya to raise her eyebrows.

"I just knew you were going to call us Jack and Rose sometime soon!" I said as soon as I could speak again. "God, as long as you don't start referring to me as Arwen I'll be alright. Maybe this is the only good thing that ever came out of you not loving _Lord of the Rings_ like you should."

"Draw me like one of your French girls, Jack," Tanya said, making her voice light and airy, to which I immediately responded with a "Too far! We are so not there yet!"

"And I can't draw," Garrett muttered, causing Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, and I to laugh once more.

"The best part is he doesn't even know how Jack drew Rose!" Tanya exclaimed, just thrilled by this point. Garrett raised an eyebrow, and I cringed, knowing what was coming next. I buried my head into his shoulder as Tanya said the ill-fated words. "She's completely nude!" and then burst into another fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"Can someone get me drawing lessons," Garrett asked, immediately causing me to raise my head and smack him on the shoulder, which of course just resulted in another round of laughter that lasted longer than it should have, due to the unusually carefree mood we were all in.

"Is _Lord of the Rings_ any good?" Garrett suddenly asked from underneath me. "I've never seen it."

Even humans could have heard a pin drop with the silence that ensued. Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar all had their hands over their mouths, not daring to breathe, but gleeful looks in all of their eyes. I had made each of them watch LOTR after I had seen it for the first time and fallen in love with the storyline, the characters, all of Middle Earth. Yes, I was a nerd, but a proud one. The fact that Garrett hadn't even seen them was pretty much scandalous as far as I was concerned.

I got up off his chest as quickly as I could and grabbed his hand so he would get up as well. Once he was on his feet, I started dragging him towards the den. "Where are you taking me, Katie?" he asked, traces of laughter still in his voice.

"To get you some help," I pretty much growled. "We're going to watch the best movies in the world for the next twelve hours, seeing as I have the extended editions, so I hope you didn't have any plans. After that, we're going into town. You need clothes and a cell phone, just to start. We'll work out other things later."

"Katie, you're starting scare me. You sound like Alice. Every single time I've gone to visit the Cullen's since she's been there, she's remarked about how I need better clothes or whatever. Trust me, I'm perfectly fine with what I have."

"I don't care about style, you just need more," I said. "You've got what, like three changes? And besides, it gives me an excuse to buy things as well. I can never go with Tanya without her driving me crazy. She's the one who's like Alice and doesn't let us buy anything that isn't designer brand name. Now shut up and watch the movies with me." By this time, we had reached the den and I put in the first movie. Garrett lied down on the couch and pulled me on top of him like he always did. And although I had seen LOTR countless times before, this was genuinely the best time I had watching them. For one thing, Garrett was constantly asking questions that I was only too happy to answer. For another… well, it was simply the presence of Garrett himself. Just being in close proximity with him was electrifying. Calling him mine seemed almost a fantastical notion, and yet here he was, all mine forever. There was no way I was letting him go, not now. Not after how happy he made me. If anyone, _anyone_, could get me to laugh the way he did after Irina's death, they were probably worth keeping around. Hell, I'd keep him around anyway. No one else had sparked this kind of emotion in me, not in a thousand years. And I was determined not to let it escape me.


	8. Chapter 8

When the movies were over, the last credits playing, I stood up and stretched, a habit that we still used from our human days. Along with the Cullen's, we had inadvertently picked up on human characteristics and made them our own. Besides hunting, we almost never moved at full speed, and blinking occasionally and breathing were almost natural. We were pretty much human in all but diet, something that I was immensely proud of achieving. Garrett, too stood, slowly, for a nomad, but he still hadn't acquired the habits that I knew would come with time. I wasn't really worried about our future anymore. Sure, anyone would still have lingering doubts and reservations, and I was no exception, but Alice had seen him becoming a permanent part of our family. I trusted Alice more than anything. If she could use her gift to find Nahuel, something she couldn't see, I was certain that things she could see would happen without a hitch. Yes, it would be challenging, but I knew that Garrett could overcome it, with me by his side every step of the way.

"Well, I can honestly tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed those. I didn't know fictional movies could be so entertaining!" Garrett said. "The elves were just awesome. I'd want to be an elf if I lived in Middle Earth. Legolas especially was a badass. Anyone who can kill an elephant single handedly like that is just automatically my favorite."

I laughed. "I'm glad you liked it so much," I said, smiling up at him. "Because we're going to watch it again, more times than you'll be able to count. And we even share the same favorite character, which is a relief. Tanya likes Aragorn, and not even for the good reasons. She just thinks he's handsome or whatever. I mean, talk about a waste of a favorite character! Not to say I don't like Aragorn, which I obviously do, but seriously? She needs better reasons."

"Katie, I hate to disappoint you, but after a thousand years she's probably not going to give you what you ask for," Garrett said, laughing once again.

"She's Tanya," I said simply, all that was needed for an explanation. Garrett laughed once more, and then I grabbed his hand. "Come on," I said, a wicked gleam in my eye. "We're going shopping, and you're going to put up with it. I don't even care if you like it or not, just so long as you know what you're getting into later. This is going to happen frequently, most likely from Tanya pulling together trips to Anchorage. Don't even try to worm your way out of those. Tanya will fight, she will fight hard, and things will get all together nasty. Best to leave her alone when she gets into certain types of moods and just go along with whatever she wants. We've all learned that the hard way. You're getting free tips, be thankful."

"Oh, trust me, I don't think Tanya's going to be the most dangerous thing about living here," Garrett said. "I distinctly remember her telling me that you were infinitely worse than she was, and I heartily believe her. But don't worry. Call me insane, but I still love you."

"Good," was all I said in response. I loved the way Garrett teased me like that, but at the moment, I was focused on my baby, whom I hadn't seen in weeks. My enormous Dodge Ram, parked behind the house, begged for my attention.

Garrett raised his eyebrows at me, and I walked straight up to my truck. "This is my baby, so if you so much as joke in a negative way about my truck, I will shock your ass back to Forks, at the very least. No one messes with my truck. And you're not driving it, so don't even bother to ask. It's not happening. Oh, and I get to pick the music. It will be country."

"Yes, O most powerful Miss Katie," Garrett said, even throwing in a mock bow for effect. I rolled my eyes at him and hoisted myself up into the driver's seat of my truck, loving the feeling of the smooth leather against my skin and the hard grip of the steering wheel in my hands. Garrett easily climbed in next to me, and I stuck the key in the ignition and jabbed my finger at a button that would play whatever CD I had left in the player. It was a Kenny Chesney one, which was good. I adored Kenny Chesney.

We sped off south in the direction of Anchorage. Most of the time, we would do our shopping in the small cities on the outskirts of the Denali National Park, but this trip was destined to take all day. The rays of dawn were just beginning to seep over the horizon, so we had plenty of time to spare. It also gave me the wonderful feeling of having my hair swept back in the breeze, for I never drove without the windows rolled down, and having Garrett at my side. I loved my family, but I was going to have to get away and be with Garrett often. I could definitely empathize with Emmett and Rosalie when she was first changed. Love was such a powerful changing force in the ever too constant lives of vampires, and we craved that change as well as the pleasure that came from it.

When we were about halfway to Anchorage, a song that I had forgotten was on this particular Kenny Chesney CD started playing, and I was tempted to change it. I nearly did too; my hand was on its way to the button that would skip over the track when I found Garrett's in my way. "I'm curious now," was all he said to make me understand that he would never be satisfied until he heard the entirety of the song. And it wouldn't be painful for me to hear, wouldn't send me spiraling back into grief. The only price to be paid would be slight embarrassment, which I had to start getting over. Without a doubt, Garrett and I would develop a sex life before long. We were too involved with each other not to.

But still, "Steamy Windows" by Kenny Chesney was awkward listening to with Garrett right there. That was one unavoidable factor about country music; at one point or another, they would all sing about straight up sex. And in this case, having sex the back of a truck, which would only be too easy for Garrett and I to do right now.

But no, I was determined for a ring first. I might have adapted to modern society, but there were a few core morals that were valued so highly during the time of my birth that I would always follow them. And one of them was waiting until marriage before consummating a relationship with one you loved. I'd changed from my succubus days. And if I waited, it would make the experience a thousand times more special, as old fashioned as that sounded. I could only hope that Garrett had the same convictions about the topic.

Still, my mind couldn't help but get a little creative. It was impossible not to think of what the experience would be like, listening to this song, staring at Garrett. It would be beautiful, for sure, and Garrett would make me feel like I was invincible. Those were simple truths, happily unavoidable. I was also convinced that it would probably be the highest point in my life, the first time Garrett and I would make love, because I would feel that love, feel all the things people did when they found their soul mate. Passion would ignite a fire that I had never before experienced.

_God damn Kenny Chesney and his baby making songs,_ I thought as the song drew to a close. Awkwardness radiated in the car, and my thoughts weren't helping the situation. I knew Garrett could tell what I was thinking about, because I could read identical thoughts in his eyes. They were darkening, and not out of hunger. Want and need filled their ruby depths, begging for me. And I wanted to reciprocate to him. I wanted to take him into my arms and love him right there, never caring for anything else. Garrett was all that mattered.

Just as I was leaning in to act upon my needs, I noticed a sharp turn out of the corner of my eye. I hadn't noticed that my foot had pressed upon the gas so much that we were easily going over 100 miles an hour, and could never make that turn going that speed. I slammed my other foot on the brakes, turning the wheel to the left sharply. The wheels made a loud screeching sound, but the bed of the truck made it around without hitting anything, which was a small miracle. My wide eyes were now locked firmly on the road, breathing hard. Thankfully, a new song was playing, absolutely nonrelated to the last one. After a couple minutes, I chanced a glance at Garrett, who had his eyes still locked on me, the need still there. And I knew I felt the same emotions. I wanted him, all of him, feel his body above mine. I couldn't ignore that look in his eyes anymore. I sped up the truck again, looking for a place, any place, to park. Before long, I found one, off the side of the highway. My truck came to another abrupt stop, and I vaguely registered that I'd have to do some work on the engine when we got back to the house, but the thought was fleeting, and left my mind after the briefest moment. My concentration was wholly focused on the man in the seat next to me.

"Katie," he whispered, voice rough with longing, but before he could even take another breath, I was on his lap, one of my hands the only thing separating his head from the window, the force of my body pushing him backwards. My mouth was on his, tongues wrestling together, kindling only a small part of the fire inside of my body. I needed more of Garrett, everything that he could give me. I needed it now. Garrett pressed himself even closer to me, one hand against the small of my back pushing me against his hips. I moaned in response, moving one of my hands from his neck to the front of my shirt, with every intention of ripping it off my body.

And as one, both Garrett and I pushed against each other, retreating to opposite ends of the car. Both of us were breathing hard from the passion we'd experienced, eyes still darkened with lust.

"Is this the one thing we actually agree on 100 percent?" Garrett asked, voice still lower than usual, not helping me hold on to my convictions. I nodded, not trusting my voice to work at the moment. "And we're both on the same page about what we mean…" Garrett said again, voice slowly turning back to normal. I mouthed the forbidden word, _sex,_ and Garrett nodded.

"I want to marry you first," Garrett whispered. "And while I have every intention of marrying you sometime soon, I don't want to rush this. Please, it's one of the only things that I still hold onto from my human days."

At that, I actually rolled my eyes, a familiar gesture, which calmed me considerably. "Please. One of the only things… you're a patriot, born and bred. Even humans would see you and believe that you're one of those people who reenact old Revolutionary War scenes in the park at random times. You're just such an American!"

"And what's wrong with America, Miss Katie?" Garrett asked, smiling once again, his tone light and teasing. "If I recall correctly, you live there as well, for longer than I've been alive."

"Yes, I have, but I'm Slovakian in my heart," I said, eyes clearly portraying a joking message ad voice dripping sarcasm. "Because I was only in Europe for a few hundred years, and only a hundred or so of those were actually spent in Slovakia. And Denali is not the place I've spent the longest, oh no. I couldn't be American at all, especially with my love for country music. None of that screams American, now does it? And speaking of how I've been here longer than you've been born, we need to talk about that. You seriously have questionable judgment if you're going to fall for a cougar like me. Shouldn't you be chasing after the younger women?"

"Well, you really can't expect me to fight against your charms, now can you?" Garrett responded, both of us loving the playful flirtations. "You're so much older you know all the tricks on how to get a man to fall for you. How am I supposed to know, when I'm so young and inexperienced?"

"Because you must have been taught about the nasty monsters like me by mommy and daddy," I said, getting just a slightly more seductive smirk on my face. "With your pretty face, I'm sure they were aware that women of all ages would attempt to seduce you. It would be a criminal offense not to put you on your guard, at the very least."

"Well, maybe so, but I can live my own life. And I think I decided I just might like being seduced by older women, or at least one. There's one I know who's much more beautiful than any of the others I've met. I'm thinking that I might just say 'to hell with it' and be with her. When you live forever, age is just a number, right?" By this point, Garrett had leaned over so that we were only a hair's breadth apart.

"I thought we both agreed not to take this too fast," I breathed out, before I too screwed the whole thing over and loved Garrett, picking up where we had left off earlier.

"Well I really hope that doesn't mean I can't kiss you every once and a while," Garrett whispered back, pressing his lips to mine before he even finished speaking. Not wanting to fight at all, because I was more than OK with Garrett kissing me, I put my hands on his neck as Garrett deepened the kiss.

Time turned meaningless, inconsequential, as it always did when Garrett kissed me. Sometime during the kissing, I registered a change, but it took several more minutes to realize that the background noise had ceased, because the CD had run its course. Glancing at the clock on the dash, I suddenly yelped and broke away from Garrett, quickly turning the key to start the truck up again. Garrett raised an eyebrow at me, and I jabbed a finger at the clock for an answer, grabbing another CD from the small selection I had in the car. This time, I chose the music with care. Carrie Underwood couldn't hurt. Yes, going over the songs one more time, I decided this particular Carrie Underwood CD, _Play On_, was about as clean as country music was going to get.

"Kate, it's only ten in the morning. We're not going to run out of time soon," he said, laughing a bit at my urgency. I raised an eyebrow at him, but then remembered that he hadn't seen me shop before. Every minute I spent with Garrett just increased my feeling that I'd known him my whole life. Looking at the ease with which he had molded into our family, it really did seem like it. It also seemed incredulous that I had gotten along for this long without him by my side. He could calm me down in a bad mood, never fail to bring a smile to my face. I was stone before I knew him. Unfeeling, never changing stone. Then Garrett came and breathed life into me, shocking my senses to the extreme. I hadn't really lived until I'd met him.

"Shopping's going to take forever, trust me," I blurted out, interrupting my own thoughts. "When Tanya and Carmen go, it'll be even worse. What you'll soon learn, and what Eleazar has come to fear, is that all the Denali sisters are shopaholics. Although I think you'll be a source of comfort for Eleazar. Before, he was the only male. Now he'll have you for moral support!" I finished cheerfully, only aggravating Garrett further. I knew that he was going to fear the shopping trips just like Eleazar did. Tanya, Carmen, and I were ruthless about it. They'd try to get out of it, but it would never work. I saw Garrett comprehend all of this, his emotions going from slightly wary, to horrified, to resigned. Good. It would be easier for him if he didn't fight and just went along with our plans. Even the Cullen's knew to fear us, because when Tanya, Carmen, and I teamed up with Alice, we'd always get our way. Everyone knew better than to argue with the four of us. We were unstoppable.

Irina used to be the same way. She would help us drag Eleazar, and if we were visiting, the Cullen's out shopping with us, eager to embrace her human side and try on thousands of clothes. Irina and Tanya were a bit more fashion forward than Carmen or I were, for we normally went for comfort, so they were even more aggressive about it. It really was a sight, witnessing Tanya, Irina, Carmen, Alice and I drag Eleazar, Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, and Edward out with us, Esme and Rosalie laughing along with us, playfully reminding us not to break their mates, the few but highly memorable times we'd gone shopping with our cousins.

But even reminiscing over some of the highlights of our lives, Irina was painful to think about. The pain was still too fresh, too new after a thousand years of being with my sister. Even had we been humans, Irina's loss would have been excruciating, looking at how close we'd been. She and Tanya were my best friends. Add a thousand years into the mix, the pain was just intensified, rubbing gallons upon gallons of salt into the wound.

Garrett saw my face turn sorrowful, and knew at once what had crossed my mind. He wrapped his arms around my torso, pressing his lips to my temple. "Live for her," he reminded me in a soft voice. "Be happy like she wants you to be. Don't let her sacrifice be in vain."

I could never do that. Irina would never have died in vain. She died a hero, protecting us, her family, against something she knew would kill us all. She dared to defy an awful power that had spread like a disease, succeeding in quenching it a bit, keeping it away. The disease had taken her, but because of her sacrifice, it hadn't taken anyone else that day. Irina was the reason we were all still alive. And as much as I wanted to let my sorrow swallow me up again, I knew that she really did want my happiness. Garrett was right. I had to honor her memory by being happy, because it's all she's ever really wanted.

I took a deep breath, and sent a small smile in Garrett's direction, letting him know that I would be all right, as least for now. We both knew that I would need him countless times in the next few years while I tried to learn how live again. I did need him, and I was okay with that. Garrett had taught me two important things. One, of course, was how to love someone more than your own life. The other was how to let others take care of you, because no single person could take the weight of the world on their shoulders. Not even me. I would destroy myself by doing that, and then how could I be there for Tanya? If Garrett was going to be my rock, I would have to be Tanya's, the few times she'd need it. Yes, she was stronger than I was, but even she needed support occasionally. I was the only one she could turn to now. She didn't have a mate like I now did. She only had one sister. She only had me. I needed to take care of myself to take care of her. I owed that to Tanya, for the all times she had brought me up when I'd fallen.

Giving another deep breath, I focused on getting Garrett and myself to Anchorage, which went smoothly. The big city was beautiful, right on the water, and with the mountains in the background, it was truly a picturesque view. But I wasn't interested in the 'city' part of it. I drove to a more rural place, but one that had a fantastic outdoor mall of sorts, where Tanya, Carmen, and I loved to shop. Eyes shining, I parked my truck and dragged Garrett outside, taking in everything that I could.

"Oh, wait, I almost forgot something," I said, suddenly remembering a crucial item. Even though they were a bit stunning, I could pass my golden eyes off as a human shade, if they didn't look too close (they never did), but Garrett's brilliant red eyes couldn't pull that off just yet. Rummaging around in the basket underneath the cup holders, I quickly found the small package I was looking for.

Straightening back to my full height, I held out the contacts for Garrett. He took them, albeit apprehensively and reluctantly. Popping open one of the lids, he held the contact on his finger, a look on his face much like the one he wore the first time he had gotten a taste of animal blood. Remembering that day, I had to work hard to stifle a laugh.

"Come on, don't be a baby," I said. "You have to wear those. I don't think it would go over well if someone saw you had red eyes. You never know, they could be crazily paranoid and get the police involved, and we really don't need that kind of distraction. Besides, it would take too much time out of the day. And what's more, if Bella could stand to wear those, so can you."

That did it, as I knew it would. Challenge Garrett, and he would do whatever you wanted him to. He carefully placed the contacts in his eyes, blinking as he adjusted.

"And now I can't see right," he muttered as he glanced around. I knew the feeling. When they had first sold colored contacts, Tanya, Irina and I had tried them on for fun, to see if we could duplicate the original colors we had when we were humans, blue for Tanya and Irina, green for me. We'd managed to get fairly close, based off our fuzzy human memories and the few times we'd seen reflections. However, there was a film that our enhanced vision could clearly see, and it was quite annoying.

The contacts I'd grabbed for Garrett were brown, the color I'd imagined his eyes had been before he was changed. They looked normal enough, though I could just detect a bit of the red behind them, but no human would notice that. Eleazar had instructed me to bring a few sets if we were going to be out for long, because the venom Garrett possessed in his eyes would make them dissolve if they were there for too long.

"Remember, you just fed yesterday. You'll be fine," I muttered, to calm both him and myself. I knew that I would have to shock Garrett if it came down to that, but I would prefer to keep that as a last resort. "I'll be with you the entire time. You don't have to worry about a thing."

"I hope so," Garrett muttered. He looked uneasy, an emotion I had not yet seen upon his features. I didn't like it. I associated Garrett with strength. It only occurred to me then that sometimes, I'd have to be there for him, be his strength, especially in moments like this. Love wasn't about finding the one that would be your rock. Love was about finding the person that would be your rock, and who would also need you as their rock. I grabbed his hand, intertwining our fingers, and squeezing lightly. Slowly, we set off together, me keeping my eyes open for any stores that struck my fancy.

We came up to one of my favorites quickly. It was a small store, but got good business, especially from my sisters and I. We frequented here so often, Jeff, the man behind the register, waved at me. "Hey Kate," he said. "Where are Tanya, Irina, Carmen and Eleazar? I thought that you guys would never pass up an opportunity to make Eleazar's life hell by dragging him in here. I thought he was going to run out screaming last time he and Carmen came in. She loaded him up with so much stuff, do you remember?"

I forced a laugh I didn't really feel, but I had to keep up a human charade. Only Garrett and Tanya could make me laugh with the present mood, Irina's death still lingering. "Yes, Eleazar was quite annoyed with her after that. But Carmen got her way in the end, like she always does. They, along with Tanya, are up at the house. As for Irina… well, there was a car crash. She didn't make it out." There, a lie ready at the top of my head. I could count the number of humans who knew all of us on one hand, and only a fraction of them would really ask about Irina. It was a good number. The less people I had to mention it to, the better.

"Oh, God, Kate, I'm sorry. You and Tanya must be going through hell right now," Jeff said, truly looking sorrowed. But he was tactful enough to drop the subject. "Anyway, who's this guy? Haven't met him before."

"Oh, where did my manners go?" I asked out loud, pretending to sound confused and forgetful. "Jeff, this is Garrett. He's my boyfriend." Boyfriend was too casual a word of course, but what else would I call him to Jeff? Soul mate? Soon to be fiancé? One was too cheesy, the other too hopeful. I couldn't call that one. Only Garrett would decide that. Jeff nodded and smiled.

"You probably don't need me to tell you, but watch yourself, Garrett," Jeff said. "She's a little freak, but we love her."

Garrett laughed, short enough not to suck in air, but too short so as to not arouse suspicion. He was quite good at this already. "Trust me, I've figured that out." He was being careful not to speak any more than he needed to. I knew that he was holding his breath right now, determined to quell the temptation as much as possible. I was so proud of him I thought my heart would burst. Not many had the right conviction to turn vegetarian, and I knew this was difficult for him. But it was good training. If he could survive today, it would be sufficiently easier for him to resist human blood. I'd done this to myself when I was turning vegetarian as well. It really helped, both the actual conversion and your self-confidence, if you managed to spend an entire day in the presence of humans and not eat one.

"Pick something out, or I will," I told Garrett as I began to shuffle through the racks of clothes. I was quickly laden down with shirts and jeans that I had pulled out, slowly making my way through the store, occasionally throwing a shirt or jeans in Garrett's direction. He caught them, using reflexes just slightly better than a human, but Jeff wasn't paying much attention. He was too immersed in some comic he had. I didn't even need to waste time in the dressing room. After a thousand years, I knew my size, and I could tell if they were comfortable by the fabric. Garrett didn't bother with it either, although it was probably for very different reasons than me.

Laden down with my selections, I dumped most of them into Garrett's arms, and then instructed him to put them on the counter. Jeff was already waiting with the price scanner, looking resigned. He knew from experience how long this would take, even without Tanya and Carmen. I pulled my silver card out of my back pocket, not even bothered with whatever price they would give us. A thousand years, five people, some well-paying jobs, and not to mention that Alice would notify us whenever the stock market had a certain trend, we tended to have quite a lot of money in reserve. Even with only Eleazar working at the moment, money was never a source of concern for us. I'd have to pick up a card for Garrett… I made a mental note to do that later today. He'd need access to our bank account in case he ever needed anything. He'd probably want his own car before long, just to name one thing.

It took Jeff several minutes to ring everything up and then put all the clothes into bags. I gave all but a couple to Garrett, and walked out, pleased with myself. I'd have to focus more of the day on getting things Garrett needed, but I did love getting new clothes. I didn't need to be Alice or Tanya to appreciate them.

Throughout the day, I managed to coax Garrett into getting several changes of clothes, as well as a cell phone and a card. Feeling quite satisfied with how the day turned out, we headed back to my truck just as the sky turned black and the stars came out to shine. Piling the last of our purchases into the bed of the truck and using bungee cords and a tarp to secure it all down, Garrett and I finally went back to the cab of the truck, both letting out sighs, mine of satisfaction, his of relief.

The first thing Garrett did was to pull the contacts from his eyes. He'd gone through three pairs today, so I'd definitely have to obtain more before we did anything like that again. As he tore them out, I couldn't help but just smile at him, waiting for him to notice. As soon as the contacts were gone, he did. "What?" he asked, slightly wary.

"Do you realize that you made it through the entire day without me even having to remind you not to kill anyone?" I asked. Wonder crossed Garrett's face as he realized the truth of my words. He pulled me into his arms, pressing his lips to the small bit of exposed skin where my neck met my shoulder.

"Thank you," he whispered. I nodded, knowing he could feel the motion of my head. The only time I had gotten nervous was when we'd passed by a rather loud, obnoxious man with a British accent, speaking on his phone. Garrett had glared at him for a moment too long, but then muttered, "Not worth it. Not worth it," and kept on walking with me. I was incredibly proud then, and kissed him for a bit longer than socially acceptable. It had definitely been the highlight of the day, even more so than when I had pretended to be perfectly serious about Garrett buying a pair of yellow skinny jeans.

We held each other for a while longer, then we had to start driving back. I spoke of a few more things about living with Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar as we rode. "Never delete Tanya's episodes of _Say Yes to the Dress _from the recording machine. She'll hunt you down." "For a while, Eleazar will act big brotherly towards me, so lay off the teasing just a bit when he's around." "Don't be so formal around Carmen, for God's sake. She's got a wonderful sense of humor. It might not be as prominent as Tanya's, but it's there."

Finally, when we were only a few minutes from home, I touched upon the subject I was most scared about, the one that would have to be treated with utmost delicacy. "She really is ecstatic that we're together, and she'll try to hide it, but Tanya will get a little jealous," I said, much quieter than I had been previously. "It's glaring her in the face that she's the only one in our family, including the Cullen's, who's not mated now. She might leave to go to the Cullen's for a little while, to talk to Carlisle, and possibly even Edward. He was alone, while his whole family was mated, for an entire century. But she won't stay long. Edward's mated now, happy with Bella. When Laurent came and Irina developed feelings for him, Tanya and Irina drifted apart fractionally, and she latched on to me. And Edward really only rubbed a bit of salt into the wound. Tanya made a play for him, but Edward didn't return her feelings, obviously. I'm not saying that Tanya dislikes Bella, but it was a little hard on her. I just want to be careful around her. I can't lose her."

"Of course not," Garrett said. "She's your sister. She's the only one you have now. I swear to you, I'm not going to drive the two of you apart. I'd kill myself before that could happen. Tanya's already like family to me. So are Carmen and Eleazar for that matter. I got to know the two of them very well during the past couple of weeks. I want to strengthen the family Katie, but if it even seems like I'm accomplishing the opposite goal, I will leave. You're relationship with Tanya is more important than me."

"No!" I all but shrieked, parking in my usual place behind the house. "You better not leave me, ever! If Tanya seems to be drifting off, I'll find some way to fix it, but I refuse to let the cost be you. I never wanted to acknowledge it, but after I met you, I realized that I'd been searching for you for an entire millennium. I fully intend to spend another millennium with you. Don't you dare mess up my plans."

Garrett smiled at me. "Trust me, I have no plans on leaving you either Katie. I just think Tanya means more than me. I'm going to talk to her though. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable."

"God, you must love me if you're going to talk to Tanya about that alone," I lightly joked. "Either that or you have a suicide wish. Please tell me it's not that latter."

Garrett laughed, pulling me close. "I'd face the Volturi a thousand times over for you," he said. "Hell, I'd even have followed you to Britain, if that's where you lived. I wouldn't have liked it one bit, but I'd have gone with you." He kissed me quickly, then we went around to the back to pull out what we had bought that day. Eagar to get home, we hurried inside, where we were met with a most unusual sight.

"Save a horse, ride a cowboy!" Tanya, Carmen, and even Eleazar shouted out. Tanya was smiling overenthusiastically. She'd obviously snuck into my room and stolen my Big and Rich CD, and was just waiting for Garrett and I to come home to play it. "Come on Kate, dance with me!" she exclaimed, dragging me to the center of the room. I couldn't help but laugh as she restarted the song, and we jumped around to the wonderful beat that Big and Rich created. Carmen joined in as well, while Garrett and Eleazar watched from the arms of the couches, laughing at the sight of us. I knew every word, and mouthed along to the CD, even screaming out the title with Tanya and Carmen whenever it came. This was one of our absolute favorite songs to dance to, and every now and then we'd have to play songs like this and just lighten up, and have fun. Now, with Irina still lingering in the house, Tanya, Carmen, and I all realized the importance of having fun in her memory. Everything we did would be for her, remembering her, living like she wanted us to.

"I thought Miss Katie didn't sing," Garrett called out once the song was over. I rolled my eyes at him as I walked over to sit on his lap.

"That wasn't singing," I clarified. "That was screaming six words out. It doesn't count. It'll take a lot more to get me to sing, I promise you that."

"You have to catch her off guard," Tanya said, swaying along to the beat of the next song. "She'll sing if she doesn't think anyone's listening. Those are the three times I've heard her, at least. I don't know why she doesn't sing around anyone else, she's quite good. Oh wait, yes I do know. She's Kate and she's more stubborn than a mule. She sticks to a habit for five minutes, and you have to work a century to get her to break it." She stuck her tongue out at me, and I lazily held my hands up in the shape of a heart back in her direction. Conversations had been that way between us for years. Easy and effortless.

There would still be days where I would have to mourn. I had been with Irina too long not to. I had loved her too much not to. But that night gave me even more hope that we would heal one day. Living that free and easy, it had to be a sign. Irina was still with us, even if not in physical presence. She encouraged us to live happily. Everyone felt her presence tonight, telling us she'd be alright, but she'd kick our asses if we stopped living for her. Tanya and I shared a sad smile as we both acknowledged what Irina wanted us to do, but we also knew she was right. We had to do what Irina said.

So I didn't feel guilty at all as I danced to "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" with Tanya and Carmen, because Irina and Garrett and had given me the hope I needed to move on in that moment. They freed me.


	9. Chapter 9

"That was Rosalie on the phone," Carmen announced excitedly one lazy Saturday afternoon. Garrett and I had just returned from hunting. I had been ecstatic. After months of hard work, his eyes had finally morphed from ruby to orange, and now they had dulled even further, to a hard amber. It would still be a few more months before they would be completely gold, but the improvement was so outstanding it was almost unthinkable. Garrett had wholly devoted himself to the vegetarian lifestyle, and as far as I knew, he hadn't even cheated once. It was truly remarkable.

"What did Rosalie want?" Tanya asked, flipping through episodes of _Say Yes to the Dress_. Lately, she'd been dragging me to watch them with her and Carmen, demanding if there were any that I liked. And each time, I rolled my eyes and reminded her that I wasn't even engaged yet, to which Tanya always responded "Yet! That's the key word! Come on, everyone knows Garrett's going to propose soon!" And still, no proposal, no ring. Tanya and I had even been giving him not so subtle hints as well. She hadn't, thank goodness, been incredibly jealous. The signs were there, yes, but after we had a long talk about it, she'd convinced me that she'd rather see Garrett and I happy than anything else, and she'd taken to trying to tell Garrett that I was expecting a ring with even more vigor than me. We'd leave pictures of styles I liked in his newly acquired red Mazda, talk in loud voices about what gemstones were my favorites, purposely look at rings online in rooms where he would conveniently walk into. I told myself that he was just waiting for the opportune moment, but I was getting more and more tense. A girl could only take so much sexual tension, for Garrett and I were firm about not having sex until we were legally wed. We were raised on old-fashioned morals.

"Carlisle's expecting that Rosalie's going have her baby in two weeks, and Rose wants all of us present for the birth. Nessie is demanding we come as well. Rose advised that we come now, or Alice was going to come up here and drag us down. Apparently she had a vision that she needs us down now. Don't worry, Rose said she knew what the vision was, and it was nothing harmful," Carmen reassured. Excitement filled the air, all of us anxious to see Rosalie's baby. She and Emmett had been waiting on it for near a hundred years. And after seeing the way Rosalie interacted with Nessie, I knew she would be an excellent mother.

Eager to get down the Cullen's immediately, we hurriedly packed a few essentials into bags and loaded them into the trunk of Tanya's Mercedes. Tanya drove, as always, Carmen was riding in the middle seat in the front, Eleazar in the passenger's side, and Garrett and I were sprawled across the seats in the back. It was pretty much identical to the scene when we had come back from Forks, the day Irina had died.

It had been three months, and the pain hadn't gone away, as I knew it wouldn't. Tanya and I had good days and bad days. On the good days, we'd live as we did when Irina was with us, happy. On bad days, I would become so antisocial and hostile that only Garrett could pull me out of those moods, and even he received countless shocks in those first few months. I tried refraining as much as I could, but if I was pissed off enough, it didn't matter who tried to touch me. I'd shock them to their knees. I felt bad about it later, of course, but I didn't come out of mourning without a good fight.

Tanya sped along the highway, determined to reach the Cullen's in four hours or less. It was a tall order, but I don't think the speedometer ever dipped below 110 miles per hour. We'd been waiting for years for Rose's baby. We were impatient by now, and I knew that all of us were excited to see how much Nessie had grown.

Dusk was just falling when Tanya pulled into the Cullen's drive, at a record time of a mere three and a half hours. We all sprang out of the car, and Nessie flew down the porch steps, hurling herself into Carmen's waiting arms, Jacob trailing protectively behind her. Carlisle, Esme, Edward, and Bella lingered by the doorway, arms raised in welcome.

Nessie was showing Carmen a plethora of memories that we had missed. As Tanya, Eleazar, Garrett, and I made to go inside the house and greet the other members of the family, Carmen suddenly laughed behind us. "Yes, Nessie, you'll have plenty of time to share your memories with the rest of the family. We'll be here for a few weeks, don't you worry."

In the front room, Rose was lying on the couch, watching some football game with Emmett. Her stomach had swelled to an incredible size, indicating that she was so close to bursting. She had a cup of hot blood in her hands (which was clearly animal by the smell, which in turn meant Garrett wasn't going crazy over human blood, thank God), which she was drinking thirstily. But unlike how Edward and Carlisle had described Bella's pregnancy, Rosalie was absolute glowing. She didn't seem sickly or near the brink of death. In fact, she had never looked better. Emmett was even more fidgety than usual at the prospect of his child coming. I knew that he had mixed feelings about the baby. While it went unquestioned that he loved it, he was apprehensive about being a father. Rosalie had confided in Tanya, Carmen and I that Emmett didn't think himself responsible enough to handle a child. However, he got along just fine with Nessie, if teasing her a bit more than everyone else, but that was just Emmett's nature. I was sure that he'd be fine, and he had Rose, Carlisle, and Edward to coach him.

As soon as she saw us, a huge smile lit up Rosalie's face. She waved us over to her couch, slowly getting up so she could hug us as best she could.

"Baby's taken its toll this month," she explained as she gingerly lied back down. "Esme told me this would happen, so it wasn't entirely unprepared, but I don't ever recall being this exhausted or drained since I was a human. I'd probably feel better if I was drinking human blood, but I don't want to open myself to that temptation." We all nodded, understanding. Alone of all of us, even Carlisle, Rosalie had never had a taste of human blood. True, Carlisle had only done so while changing Esme and Rose, but Rose could boast not even that much. Not one drop of human blood ever made its way past her lips.

"I wish she'd just give in," Emmett said, walking over, his signature easy smile on his face. "I keep having to hunt for her since she can't do it herself, and I have to make sure I don't empty the animals of blood before I get them here. Then I've got to drain them outside into her cups because Esme doesn't want them in the house. I'm telling you, I'll be glad when she's popped this baby out."

Rose rolled her eyes at him, and finished the rest of her blood. At that moment, Alice came bounding down the stairs, making headway for us. Jasper was behind her, looking slightly amused, her exuberant mood rubbing off on him.

"I knew your eyes would look good once they changed," Alice announced happily, addressing Garrett. "Now go upstairs. Right now. Emmett, Jasper, you too. And Edward, same goes for you," she said, raising her voice slightly to call Edward. He was at her side in an instant, and apparently whatever thoughts were running through her head were amusing to him, because he was just barely holding back a chuckle. As soon as all the people she needed were gathered, Alice began to push them upstairs, with an explicit warning for the rest of us to stay back, and that she'd use Edward to make sure we weren't listening in. I believed her, and I wouldn't try, but I couldn't help but wonder what they were discussing up there.

The guys came tramping down the stairs a few minutes later, all in suspiciously good spirits. I raised an eyebrow at Garrett, but he just smiled at me, in a way that told me he knew something I didn't. Well, that was going to bother me to no end. I went through a few options in my head for ways that I could wheedle the information out of him, but most he would see right through. I decided to go for sultry, not asking straight out, but wait for a later time, seduce him into it later. Not completely honest, but I was allowed to seduce him. He was my mate, if not my husband yet.

I slowly walked over to him, Edward laughing as he read my thoughts. One quick glare in his direction was enough to ensure that he wouldn't tell everyone, upsetting my whole goal. But I made it to Garrett with no further interruptions from Garrett or anyone else.

Sliding my hand up his chest, it came to rest on his cheek, and I pulled him down for a long, slow kiss. I was on full succubus mode. No one could resist me. Garrett kissed me back enthusiastically, but ended it far too soon for my liking.

"Nice try, Katie," he whispered into my ear, causing my whole act to fall apart and I glared at him, crossing my arms.

"Stop reading me so well," I grumbled. A loud cry suddenly drew my attention. Emmett was doubled over laughing, and I could practically hear all the jokes he was formulating whirring around in his head. No doubt he'd use his favorites as soon as he composed himself long enough to speak. Sure enough, the second his fits of laughter ended, he grinned over in my direction.

"Are you getting a little frustrated Kate?" he asked devilishly. "Seems like your succubus act is falling a bit flat. I'm thinking you're going to have to amp it up a notch to get some. You could be the poster child of the year for sexual frustration. Did I tell you how early Rose and I started going at it after we met?"

"No, because you know Rose would kill you if you started describing your sex life with her in public," I said, effectively quenching his argument. Happy with myself, I settled down comfortably in Garrett's arms, but he only held me a moment before he let go. The look on my face must have looked more hurt than I intended, because he laughed.

"Edward, Emmett, Jasper and I are going to leave for a while, but I'll be back soon," he said, getting a devilish glint in his eyes that rivaled Emmett. My suspicion was renewed, but I conceded to let him go. I had just better find out what was going on when they got back, because I had an odd suspicion that it involved me somehow. My thoughts were only heightened when I saw Alice whisper something into Esme's and Carlisle's ears, and they both shot side smiles in my direction.

The guys immediately loaded into Edward's Volvo, speeding south, but I had no idea what their final destination was. But a small hand on mine turned my attention to Nessie, who was impatiently waiting for me to lower myself to her level so she could fill me in on everything that I missed.

"Hi Nessie!" I bubbled, much like Tanya. She'd grown another foot since I'd seen her and could now pass for a young elementary school student. It must have eased Bella's and Edward's mind so much when they had met Nahuel, proving Renesmee's future to be a safe one. I kneeled down in front of Rosalie's couch so Nessie could press her hand to my face, showing me all of her memories.

There were thousands she went through, everything from going down to La Push for the first time with Jacob to being schooled on the rules of football by Uncle Emmett, and even watching from the sidelines as Uncle Jasper gave Bella her first real fighting lesson, Nessie anxiously hoping to pick up some tips. Momma didn't allow her to learn to fight yet, which made Nessie quite frustrated. _Everyone_ got to fight, except her. She didn't want to fight anyone necessarily, but it'd be nice to have the skill.

Finally, one last image lingered in my mind, because Nessie considered it of great importance. She showed me a memory of a picture of Edward and Bella's wedding, and then flipped images in her mind so that I took Bella's place and Garrett took Edward's. Her question was clear: Are you and Uncle Garrett going to get married like Momma and Daddy?

I barked out a short laugh. "I hope so, but if he doesn't give me a ring soon, I can't marry him." Nessie, apparently confused, pressed more images into my mind, asking me why a wedding ring was of such great importance. When she had asked Aunt Rosalie if Garrett and I were going to be married, Rose didn't know, so Nessie had been excited to ask me. I was left to answer all of her questions about the intricacies of weddings, which I honestly didn't mind at all. She was genuinely curious, eager to know as much about the world as she could. And her mind was so pure. She was extremely intelligent without really having to know the pain of real life yet. It would come, surely, but not now. Nessie was an uncorrupted innocent for now, and I wanted to preserve that. She shouldn't have to experience all of the pain life brought. She was too good. I wouldn't mention what life was to bring to her. She didn't need that. Right now, she was content with her parents and her Jacob.

After two complete hours of Nessie and I discussing the finer points of weddings and our general frustration that neither of us knew if Garrett and I were going to be married at any time soon, Tanya commanded Nessie's attention, and I was getting a bit twitchy and annoyed. Where _were _Garrett and the rest of the guys? Alice told me not to worry, but I couldn't help it. I didn't like being left in the dark. Eventually, I took to pacing around the living room, which Tanya found annoying after a short while, so she sat me down and forced me to watch yet another episode of _Say Yes to the Dress,_ and this time, I had the opinions of not only Tanya and Carmen, but Alice, Rosalie, Esme, Bella, and even Nessie chimed in occasionally on what they thought I would look good in. Jacob was out scouting with the werewolves who's names I had learned that last time I was here were Seth and Leah, but he popped his head in every once and a while to check on Nessie. Carlisle and Eleazar were talking in low, easy tones over in the corner, and I seriously debated on whether or not I should join them.

After the fifth episode and in the middle of a particularly animated discussion between Tanya and Alice about whether a ball gown or mermaid would look better on me, we heard Edward's Volvo pull into the garage, four pairs of feet slowly making their way out. I leapt to my feet and Tanya quickly changed the television back to Emmett's football game, which was down to the last play. Emmett bounded in first, heading straight for the couch, eager to see the final seconds of the game, but only after throwing his familiar smile in my direction. Garrett, Edward, and Jasper all came in at the same time, looking very pleased with themselves. I bounded straight over to Garrett, one hand my hip.

"Now are you going to tell me what that was all about?" I asked, trying to scare it out of him, even though I knew it would never work. While my glares could send most people screaming and running in the opposite direction, Garrett wasn't affected at all.

"Nope," he said easily, popping the "P" sound. I made an exasperated sound and heard the snickers of 11 people behind me. Furious, I turned to them, exposing all of them to the power of my glare. Some of them backed up a step, but Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar were far too used to it to be affected.

"What?" I burst out. "I know that each and every one of you are aware of exactly what is going on. I know that somehow Alice told you without me finding out about the secret, which in itself is a miracle, but I would appreciate being let in and know why all of you are staring at me like I'm some sort of fool-"

"Kate, look behind you!" Tanya exclaimed, interrupting my tirade. So confused, I didn't even question what she told me and instinctively turned around, and the sight that met me instantly made me loose a scream from my throat, hands coming up to cover my mouth, eyes immediately going wide.

Garrett was there, on one knee, that familiar smile that I adored so much plastered on his lips, and a beautiful ring in a box he was holding. It wasn't any of the ones Tanya and I had printed out and left for him, but it was in the same sort of style and much, much prettier. The center gem was a magnificent, shining blue colored diamond, surrounded by smaller, traditional diamonds. Only later did I register how many were truly there.

"Kate Denali," Garrett began, which sent my still heart flying like crazy. "I would follow you until the ends of the earth, and I'll love you until the sun stops rising. Katie, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

To stunned and happy for words, I threw my legs around his waist, kissing him with as much vigor as I could manage. Laughing against my lips, Garrett stood, one hand on my back, one tangled in my hair.

"Alright, come on, Nessie's still in the room," Bella muttered after a few minutes of this. I ignored her and just pushed Garrett into me further.

"Aw, Bells, let her have her fun," Emmett said. "She's obviously not as innocent as you are. Bet you they'll go through a few houses. Esme, you're gonna have to be prepared to revamp quite a few." I ignored Emmett as well. Even his comments couldn't ruin the moment. It was too perfect, too beautiful.

"Alright, alright, enough!" Tanya said, laughing squeezing her hands between us to separate our faces. "You can do that when you're alone."

"Ah, but Kate still hasn't answered me yet," Garrett joked, holding up the ring again. I looked at him with an expression meant to be incredulous, but my enormous smile ruined that angle.

"Of course, you idiot!" I said, and I could see his happiness increase a thousand-fold with those few little words. He carefully slid the ring onto my fourth finger on my left hand, and I couldn't resist kissing him again, though much more socially acceptable than the last. Oddly enough, that was the one that caused Emmett to imitate a gagging noise.

I felt a hand on my leg and looked down to see Nessie. Garrett set me back down on my feet, and I lowered me face so that Nessie could press her palm to my cheek. She showed me her interpretation of mine and Garrett's wedding one more time, with another, simpler question: Now?

I laughed, picking Nessie up and swinging her in a circle, giddy over my own extremely lucky fate. "Yes!" I exclaimed. "Yes, now I'm definitely getting married to Garrett." She imprinted another picture into my mind, asking another question. "Of course you'll be at the wedding," I reassured her. "Just like everyone else."

"Speaking of that," Alice piped up, dancing over, a smile wide on her face. I instantly became apprehensive, knowing how overboard Alice when with these type of things. "I'm planning it, so don't even try to talk your way out if it, and we're going to have it within the next few weeks, right after Rosalie has her baby. You're not getting out of that one, either. I've already seen it happening."

"There's no way to win against her, is there," I asked, still in a slightly breathy tone from my exhilaration. But I didn't really mind Alice planning my wedding, because I knew she'd do a beautiful job, just so long as she didn't go overboard. I'd have to take control of a couple things at the very least.

"Alice," I said hesitantly, and her face lit up. She must have guessed what I was about to let her have, but she needed to know her limitations. "You can plan the wedding, but I get control over the guest list and the dress."

Alice frowned for a moment. "The dress you can have," she said. "Since I already know which ones you're debating on picking. They're really beautiful, by the way. You pick a good one, whichever you end up with. But I want the guest list. Oh, never mind. You're not going to budge on that. Just get the torture over with."

"Everyone who's here, and that's it," I said, making Alice wince overdramatically. I could see her wanting to invite every single person that Garrett or I had ever met, even for just a split second. If she had it her way, everyone who had gathered to witness for Nessie would be back, and then some.

"Not just these people," Garrett said, causing my eyebrows to furrow in confusion. Who else did he want? "Do you remember Benjamin telling me something before he and Tia left?" I nodded slowly, also remembering that Garrett had said I'd find out what the Egyptian had said in time. "He told me that when we got married, he requested that he and Tia be able to attend. I don't think you object to Benjamin and Tia?" I shook my head, pleased. Besides Garrett of course, I formed a closer bond to Benjamin and Tia than any other vampires I had met during those trying weeks.

"Benjamin and Tia will be fine, but no one else," I said with a meaningful look at Alice. She sighed loudly, but started muttering about everything she'd need for the rest of the wedding. She went to a separate room and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen off of Esme's desk and danced back into the living room, hand flying over the paper as she wrote down a very long list in her elegant script.

"OK, this is all fun and stuff, now can we go play baseball?" Emmett asked impatiently. "Alice said there was going to be a thunderstorm in an hour, and we haven't played baseball in so long! Come on, I want to see how I do against my new baby sister and cousins! It's been at least a decade since the last time we played against them, and Kate shocked me when I was just getting around to home plate, which made me lose. I need my revenge!"

"Why don't you just come over here and see if you can withstand one of my shocks now?" I challenged, holding my hand up, wiggling my fingers. Emmett wisely backed off, albeit with a bit of grumbling as he did so.

"Emmett, you're probably going to have to leave in a couple minutes with Rosalie. You're going to have to drive. Rose, you don't mind being our umpire, do you?" Carlisle asked. Rose shook her head.

"Nessie can help me with that, so long as Esme plays instead of me so we have equal teams," she replied brightly, and Esme nodded. After that confirmation, Rose slowly rose to her feet, Alice assisting her, while Emmett went to grab a couple more blood cups at Rosalie's request. With Emmett's and Alice's help, she was able to make it into the garage, where Emmett lifted her into his Jeep. He drove off, much slower than he normally would have gone, but in the opposite direction from the usual clearing.

"We had to switch where we played," Edward said into my ear, in answer to my thoughts. "We didn't want to play in the same field where the Volturi came, especially not with Irina's memorial in the center. We'd rather have that marker there instead of a baseball field." I nodded, words not having the capability to describe the gratitude I felt. Edward would know though. It was one of the few times I was actually grateful he could read minds.

Alice mulled over a few things on her list before she lifted her head, as if listening for something. A couple seconds later, a wide smile formed on her face. "Let's go!" she announced. Emmett had taken the supplies with him and Rose in the jeep, so all we needed to do was start running. Nessie didn't even need an umbrella, since Alice said that the new clearing wouldn't see any rain.

Since Nessie couldn't run as fast as any of us yet, she was propped on Edward's back. Bella informed the wolves of where we were going, and we took off into the woods, following Edward's and Alice's lead, since we didn't know where the new clearing was. Garrett and I were the fastest, so we could have overtaken them, but we preferred to lag behind a bit, talking.

"So am I correct in assuming that Alice dragged you upstairs to tell you exactly what to get and where to get it because she had seen the ring in a vision?" I asked, not bothered. It could have been days before Garrett found the right ring if Alice hadn't intervened.

"She went one step farther," Garrett replied. "She'd actually drawn out a picture of the ring, and made sure to put a clear image of it in her head so Edward would see it. Emmett was obviously thrilled that he got to make jokes about it the entire way there and the entire way back. Honestly, I don't understand how he could be Carlisle's and Esme's son. Despite the opposite personalities, look at how much bigger he is then they are."

I laughed. "Maybe one of them had an enormous uncle. I remember that back when I was a human, I had a brother who was younger than me, but he was bigger than both my father and mother by the time he was thirteen. And he completely dwarfed me. But my mother's uncle was just as big as he was. So that's where he got it. I don't know how big he ended up being. I was taken as a slave at fifteen by a tribe, and then trained to be a bodyguard for their princess. That's where Tanya and my… creator found me. I had just turned twenty one by then. Tanya's the oldest, changed at twenty four. Irina was twenty three. So I was actually the youngest, despite being changed before Irina. She was changed right as my newborn year was ending, so she was a year older than I was, and Tanya was seven years older than me."

"So Tanya was changed a little over four years before she found you?" Garrett inquired. I nodded in affirmation. "Well that makes me feel old!" he said, laughing. "I was changed when I was thirty. Although I think it might have been a comfort for my mother when she heard I died. I swear, she had a heart attack every time she asked me whether or not I was married yet and the answer was always no. She got increasingly desperate every time she asked. You should have come then. Eased her poor old heart." I laughed right along with him as we neared the clearing. I could smell Emmett and Rose not far away. Sure enough, within two minutes, we saw Emmett's Jeep parked in front of a makeshift dirt road at the other end of the clearing. Rose was stretched out on a boulder near what I guessed would become our home plate. Emmett was marking out the plates, making sure to spread them out far enough.

"Ah! My eyes!" Emmett yelled as soon as we were in range. He pretended to shield himself from my newly acquired ring. Then he turned towards Esme. "You're supposed to make sure we don't cheat. Make her take it off. The glare coming off all those diamonds is blinding me." Esme just laughed at him, but I glanced at my ring again. There wasn't really a glare in this whether, but the amount of diamonds was enormous. I turned to Garrett.

"How many diamonds are on this thing, out of curiosity?" I asked. Garrett became suddenly very interested in exactly where Emmett had placed the bases. He knew I didn't like overly extravagant things, but I loved the ring. As long as the gems weren't fake, it really didn't matter. "You know I don't care as long as they're not fake, right?" I asked, to try and reassure him that I wasn't going to go crazy.

He let out a visible sigh of relief. "Thank God," he muttered before he turned to me, followed my gaze to my ring. "Fifty exactly, including the big colored one," he said. My eyes widened, but not in anger. I was more surprised that I would love a ring so over the top. But Alice's vision didn't fail. The ring was perfect somehow.

"You're lucky I love it," I teased Garrett lightly, then gave him a quick kiss, causing Emmett to groan in mock disgust.

"Alright, before you start getting on, let's play!" he announced. "Teams… well as long as I'm against Kate, I'll be alright. I need my revenge." He grinned at me wickedly, which I returned. Well, if that's how he wanted to play, I would happily oblige him. It was on.

"And we need to separate Kate and Garrett," Tanya said, appearing suddenly at my elbow. "They're the two fastest, even more so than Edward and Jasper."

"So that means Garrett's on my team!" Emmett yelled, clapping Garrett on the back. Oh, dear Lord… This had some interesting outcomes, to say the least. "And then Edward and Jasper can be on separate teams too… Edward, you can come with me and Jasper can go with Kate." That was Emmett. He decided the teams, and as long as Rose or Esme was present to keep them fair, he got away with it. He assembled good ones as well, the ones that were the most evenly matched.

"And Bella!" he said, grinning at his newest sister (who had just dropped Nessie off with Rosalie), throwing an arm around her. "I've got to show my baby sister how the game works! She's got to be on my team."

"Tanya shouldn't be with Kate," Garrett suddenly piped up. "They're undefeatable when they're together. Unless someone has a suicide wish…"

"It's alright, I agree," Tanya said, laughing. She went over to stand with her nearly full team, leaving me with just Jasper.

"Hey, if you get Bella, we should get Carlisle," Jasper said. "Carlisle's the best hitter, but Bella's still the strongest."

"Besides me. But that can work," Emmett said, nodding. "And you should get Alice too, since Tanya's the other best pitcher. But Esme!" he suddenly, exclaimed, putting his arm around his mother. "Mother dearest, you hardly ever play. And I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to play with my dear old mum. Esme's on my team."

"Which means Carmen and Eleazar are with us," Jasper said, smirking.

Emmett called out to the others who weren't with us. "Oi! Me, Garrett, Edward, Bella, Esme, and Tanya are on one team, and Carlisle, Jasper, Alice, Kate, Carmen, and Eleazar are on the other." Edward, Carlisle, Alice, Carmen, and Eleazar, who were at various places around the field, all nodded to Emmett's yell. Alice tossed a bat over to us, and Emmett and Jasper competed with it to see who would bat first. Emmett won, so, overenthusiastically, he led his team over to stand slightly in front of Rosalie and Nessie. He grabbed his bat, swinging it for practice, never losing his signature smirk. Carmen followed them, acting as our catcher. If someone was coming around to home plate, we'd throw to her instead of having to run after that person. The rest of my team took their respective positions on the field. Carlisle was in between first and second base, Eleazar was positioned in between second and third, Jasper and I were in right and left field respectively, and Alice was at the pitcher's mound.

Emmett was up to bat first, unsurprisingly. Alice flicked the ball towards him, but it landed in Carmen's hands. Emmett, not in the slightest bit deterred, took stance again, and this time, knocked it straight towards Jasper. He ran a ways, jumped, and caught it, causing Emmett to be out. Rosalie called the play, and Emmett walked back to home plate, disgruntled.

Bella was next, slightly wary of the baseball bat, but hit the ball on her first try anyway. She seemed thrilled, and started running around the bases. She was strong, and the ball sailed over our heads, but I rushed through the forest, pumping my legs as hard as they would go, diving to catch the ball just before it hit the ground. Triumphant, I ran back, where Bella was just passing third base. Rose looked to Edward for confirmation from my thoughts.

"She caught it," he affirmed as Bella came around. "Sorry, love," he said to her as he took up the bat. Edward was more careful, making sure to hit in more infield so Jasper and I wouldn't have the chance to catch it. He made it to second base when he stopped, seeing as Carlisle had thrown the ball to Eleazar. Tanya followed up with the same kind of hit, sending Edward home and herself to first base.

Garrett was more interesting. He hit the ball in a way so that it bounced right in front of home plate, but it flew all the way out to Jasper and I. I ran after it as Garrett and Tanya flitted around the bases. I caught it just as Garrett reached second and Tanya went home.

At this point, I probably should have thrown it to Eleazar, but I was overcome by a sudden desire. _I_ wanted to be the one to get Garrett out, as childish as it was. But he was coming around to my side of the field, and I decided to just go for it. I sped after him, determined to catch him.

"Show time," I heard Emmett mutter, thrilled. I ignored him, and concentrated on moving my legs as hard and fast as they would go. Finally, while Garrett passed third and was on his way home, I jumped into the air and came down on top of him, tackling him to the ground. I pressed the ball in my hand to his shoulder.

"Out," I whispered, pressing my lips to his for the briefest of seconds. He just grinned right back at me, grabbed my forearms, and sprung up to full height, taking me with him. I pushed against him, still smiling, and he let go so both of us could head to our needed positions.

Esme was with us, because she was catching, and she just smiled and shook her head at me. Rose too, grinned from the rock she was perched on.

"You're going to be worse than Emmett and I," she said as Emmett and Edward went to the outfield, Garrett and Bella took spots infield, and Tanya tossed the ball up and down, waiting to pitch. Carlisle grabbed the bat, hitting it so hard that he was completely around the bases by the time Emmett emerged from the trees, claiming he'd caught it.

"Yeah right," I heard Esme and Rosalie mutter at the same time, Esme lamenting the fact that Maggie wasn't present at the moment to make Emmett abstain from cheating. Edward, however, called him out on his bluff, to which Emmett got a very pissed off look on his face.

"Can I borrow your gift for a moment, Kate," he called, still glaring at Edward. I laughed, but didn't try to bother shocking Edward. Even if I felt like it, Bella would shield him from my shocks. Jasper was up to bat next, and Emmett actually did catch that ball. Then it was my turn.

Garrett and Tanya both grinned at me wickedly from their places on the field. "No using your gift this time Kate!" Emmett called. I rolled my eyes in response, focusing on the ball Tanya was throwing. I hit in on my second try, aiming it right in between Bella and Garrett. Garrett, being faster than Bella, managed to grab it, running towards me as I made my way to second base. Right as he was about to tag me with it, I jumped into the air, right over Garrett's head, completely horizontal, spinning my body around into countless circles, landing neatly on the base. Garrett shook his head at me, but smiled, letting me know that the game between us was on.

Carmen performed a hit similar to mine, and it was enough to get me around the bases. Eleazar hit a power hit, which Edward and Emmett both jumped for at the same time, but Edward ended up catching it, making Eleazar out, and threw it to Esme, but Carmen reached home plate a half a second before the ball landed in Esme's hand. Rose and Nessie called it good.

Alice, too, was out and we switched sides yet again. At the end of the ninth inning, we were down by one, and I was up to bat. Carlisle was on first base, with one out. I made it my personal job to bring him in. I tried doing what Garrett had done on his first swing: hit the ball at the ground, and have it bounce far into the outfield. Carlisle and I took off the moment the bat made contact with the ball, speeding around the bases.

Emmett and Edward jumped for the ball at the same, time, but collided in midair, leaving the ball to rest on the ground. Garrett sped off after it, reaching it faster than anyone else could have. Carlisle was rounding third base at this point, and I was in between second and third. I pumped my legs even harder, knowing Garrett was the only one who could match my speed. But that was my problem. He had the ball.

I could hear him behind me, straining to reach me. Carlisle had already crossed home plate, so Garrett didn't bother throwing the ball to Esme. He just chased me as I rounded third.

And suddenly he was in front of me, having gone infield around third, effectively cutting across more field than I had to pass. I jumped, trying to get away from him again, but Garrett suspected my trick. He jumped at the same time as me and we collided in the air much like Edward and Emmett had, ending up with him on top of me on the ground. He grinned down at me, while I attempted a glare in his direction that failed the moment I tried putting it on. The grin was impossible for me to resist.

"Out," he said at the same time as Rosalie, kissing the tip of my nose, and then my lips. I rolled my eyes at him as he got off of me, and we both returned to our respective places on the field.

Carmen hit a double, and then it was up to Eleazar. He hit the ball towards right field, where it danced around the line that marked our foul ball area. Rose declared it playable, however, so Bella raced after it, throwing it towards Garrett, who then threw it to Esme, but it was too late. Carmen already passed home plate.

Our team celebrated quietly, giving each other high fives. With the exception of Emmett, everyone else gracefully lost. Carmen jumped into the air, meaning to twirl a few times before she came down, her signature celebratory exclamation.

But as she tried her first twirl, she suddenly stopped, dropping like a bullet. "Ow," she muttered, which instantly had everyone apprehensive. She had one hand on her stomach, an odd look on her face. "Carlisle!" she suddenly called out, and he was at her side in an instant, as was Eleazar.

Carlisle calmly put his ear near Carmen's stomach, while the rest of us hovered anxiously, not daring to get too close. Garrett put his arm around my shoulders as we waited for Carlisle's verdict. After a minute, he pulled away, smiling radiantly.

"Carmen, you're pregnant," he announced quietly, which was immediately met with the standard exclamations from everyone else. Eleazar was in shock, and put his ear near Carmen's stomach, mimicking Carlisle. Rosalie and Esme squealed in joy. Tanya and I ran up to Carmen, waiting anxiously for Eleazar to move out of the way. Once he did, the most wondrous expression lit up his face.

Being faster than Tanya, I got my head down by Carmen's stomach just before she did, to her chagrin. I pressed my ear to her skin, covering the other with my hand. It took me a moment, but I definitely heard it. A tiny heartbeat was fluttering, slower than a human's would, but it was, without a doubt, present.

"Oh, Carmen!" I exclaimed, hugging her. She and Eleazar had been trying for the past 150 years to conceive. And now, Carmen was finally getting her wish. She would have her own little Nessie. And I would have a niece or nephew. A new addition would be made to the Denali coven.

When most everyone took their turn at Carmen's stomach, hearing that strange, slow little heartbeat that the child would have until Carmen and Eleazar decided to have him or her stop growing. As far as Carlisle could discern about the vampire children, they hung in the balance somewhere between vampire and human, but in a different way than Nessie. They grew as fast as a human, learned much quicker, and fed on blood. Really, the only differences between them and Nessie was the growth rate and the fact that they had that little crescent on their heads, meaning they had yet to be bitten, oddly enough, since the crescent looked exactly like a vampire's bite. Eleazar had told us that Aro had studied one in Italy, years and years ago. Its parents had committed a crime, so they were killed, but the child was spared for study. It grew to the age of 120, always aging. The vampire in him made him immune to diseases, but age took him until he withered away to bones. Only the parents of these children could halt their growth.

Carmen just glowed with happiness, much in the same way Rosalie did, and the same way Bella did when she was with Nessie. All these mothers had that in common: their children lit up their world in a way I couldn't comprehend. Could never comprehend, in fact, unless I were to have one of my own. And how I wanted one…

It would take years. Perhaps as long as Carmen and Eleazar, or longer. Esme held the record for the shortest time taken to conceive as far as I was aware, and that was still a decade. But somewhere down the line, I'd conceive. Garrett and I were going to be married. I could have kids, sometime. I'd feel this kind of joy. I'd know the pleasure of being a mother.

The thought made my mind more content as we all raced back to the Cullen's house, Emmett and Rosalie returning in the Jeep. Carmen could still run, just not perform acrobatics. She'd have to be slightly more careful while hunting, but it would still be an easy change. Before, I had burned with jealousy when I learned Rose was pregnant, and Esme. But now I had some consolation. I had Garrett now. I had the same promise.

We reached the Cullen's after not long. Alice went right back to work on her wedding plans, occasionally consulting Esme for her opinion on something. Alice refused to tell me anything, mostly because Garrett was in the room. Emmett and Rosalie joined us after a while, Rose helping as much as she could with the wedding plans, Emmett immersed in yet another sports game. Edward, Jasper, and Garrett tuned into that occasionally. Eleazar still seemed to be in a state of shock. Carmen was asking Esme, Rose, and Carlisle about things to expect now that she was pregnant, while I hung on to every word.

Finally, Tanya, who'd been wishing Nessie a good night before the girl was taken to her cottage by her parents, asked Alice a question, one that I had been wondering about for months as well. "Alice, what did you show Aro that made him call off the attack?"

Alice froze, as did Edward. Both of them got a look of immense sadness in their eyes. "Death," she said sadly, looking up from her wedding plans, which had now expanded to three whole pages. "Carnage everywhere. There were only four survivors. Well, actually, three technically. If I hadn't shown Aro his fate, what would have happened was that he would have tried to take me away, infuriating Carlisle. And Aro… he would have beheaded Carlisle and burned him. That started the huge fight. Jane tortured Jasper, and he was killed by Demetri. But I got my revenge on Jane. With Bella shielding me, I threw her into Sam's, the other werewolf leader's, jaws. He ripped her apart. Emmett took out Alec while he was fighting against Bella. Benjamin created a sinkhole, sending most of the witnesses who stayed to fight with the Volturi to their deaths, but also resulted in Leah's death, who sacrificed herself for Esme. Seth was also killed, by Jane and Felix. After Sam and I killed Jane, Aro and Caius were so enraged that they entered the battle themselves. The Romanians dismembered Marcus. Caius almost killed Tanya, but Garrett knocked him into Kate, who shocked him while Tanya beheaded him from the mouth. Edward and Bella took care of Aro, but there was still most of the guard. Felix especially was on a rampage. After Bella and Edward killed Aro… Felix killed Bella. Edward was furious, and turned on Felix, but Chelsea surprised him from behind. She and Felix overpowered Edward, and he too was killed. I didn't see everything, but I was enraged. I had to avenge Jasper. But I saw Esme burning on the ground, and well as one of the guards ripping out Rose's baby from her body and burning both of them. Emmett went hysterical after that. Eleazar and Carmen were both killed by another guard, and Tanya killed him, but she was overpowered by Felix right afterwards. I saw the corpses of Maggie, Liam, Amun, Kebi, Tia, Zafrina, Senna, Peter, Charlotte, Mary, Randall, Vladimir, Stefan, and the all the wolves. Felix and Chelsea were still fighting, as well as seven other guards. Benjamin opened another sinkhole, taking another four out, but Felix got him as well. And Kate… you were grabbed by Chelsea and two others. You fought your hardest, but there were too many. They considered you the biggest threat at this point, because of your gift. They held on to you, and Felix was supposed to behead you, but Garrett jumped on him. He stopped Felix, but he was also killed. And after that… you couldn't be stopped. You were so far in your grief, you just turned up your gift to full potential and took the rest of them out, Felix and Chelsea included. In the end, you, me, Emmett, and Siobhan were the only ones left. Emmett had to hold me back because I wanted to jump into the fires. And so did you Kate. Neither Siobhan nor Emmett could stop you. You clung to Garrett's remains and you burned together. I don't know what happened to Jacob or Nessie. I assumed they got away, but I can't be 100% sure. While I would have loved to see the destruction of the Volturi, the price was too much to pay." She said the words with no emotion, but I saw the dead look in her eyes. The vision had taken a toll on her. To see almost everyone she loved die must have been awful. I was almost overcome with dread, and I had only heard. I hadn't seen. I turned so I was lying belly down on Garrett's chest, pressing him closer to me. Never, ever, would I let anyone take him from me.

"Thank God Aro's so concerned about self-preservation," Tanya breathed. "Even with all the other nomads in the world, that would have rendered our kind to near extinction. All of the pain and suffering that would have taken place… I can't even begin to comprehend it. But even now, we all know Caius wants us eradicated. I'm right, aren't I Alice?" Alice nodded once.

"I'm keeping a close watch on him however," she said. "He doesn't want to do anything yet, since Aro has forbidden it. But he's toying with the idea of sending a few after your coven, Tanya. He's still enraged that you and Kate escaped him for the second time. But Caius doesn't know my gift like Aro does. And since Aro's not involved, I can see every decision Caius makes. He won't be able to touch us." Tanya nodded, satisfied with Alice's assurance. But I was a bit more skeptical.

No one could touch me. That much was certain. I'd easily kill anyone they sent after me, provided it wasn't Alec. If his gift got to me before I could incapacitate him, then I'd be in trouble, but he had the disadvantage of his gift being slow. Besides, I was positive that Caius wouldn't send out Jane or Alec. Aro would obviously notice their absence. I wasn't worried about me. I was worried about my family, specifically Garrett.

The rational side of me told me I was being foolish. Garrett was more than capable of taking care of himself, just like Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar. But I couldn't help but feel a sense of fear. Just like Jasper. When the Cullen's had described the newborn fight, Jasper had remarked that he had gotten bitten in his urge to make sure Alice wasn't involved in the fighting, when Alice could easily take care of herself.

And then the answer hit me. It was another aspect of love. Irrational fear for your significant other. Eleazar and Carmen acted like that around each other, as did all of the Cullen pairings. That fear, that need for an assurance of safety, could be enough to drive the other to the point of extreme annoyance, but it was just something every mate had to put up with. Even with my gift, I would be prepared to bet big money that Garrett was secretly terrified for me as well, especially considering that Tanya and I were some of Caius' top targets. But Alice was sure she'd see when he was planning. I did feel safe, so long as she watching out for us. I would have my brief spells of panic, but they'd passed, just like this one did. Joy took its place, and I spent a night like I had four months ago, just before the confrontation, where family dominated everything else. Always family.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, Nessie kept most of us occupied with her various antics. She loved learning more about the world, and was constantly asking why things happened. Her favorite topics at the moment were Rosalie's and Carmen's babies, and the impending wedding. She had to know every little detail.

There was a different problem, however, as we found later in the day. Charlie, Bella's father, and his girlfriend Sue were coming over. Both of them were completely human, in close quarters with a vampire that had only turned vegetarian less than four months ago. True, Garrett had gone out to town with me and the rest of the family plenty of times, but we'd never let him get in such close proximity with a human for an extended period of time. Still, he didn't want to leave. Charlie and Sue would no doubt be coming to the house a few times over our stay.

"Katie, running away from the problem's not going to fix it," he argued with me after Bella had gotten the call from Charlie. "If I can survive this, it will only help, make me stronger. And I give you full permission to shock me if I need it. I'm not going to run forever Katie. I need to get just as strong as you and Tanya and everyone else. I'll be fine."

I wrinkled my nose, debating it, when Alice came in. "Stop worrying!" she told me. "They'll all be fine. I've seen it." Garrett gave me a superior look, which I rolled my eyes to, but took his hand and we went back to the main room, sitting on the couch, where Emmett had once again fixed the channel on a baseball game. Charlie's car pulled into the drive just moments later.

"Hey, Dad, Sue." "Charlie, Sue." Bella and Edward greeted their guests at the front door, leading them into the living room. Seth and Leah, werewolves in Jacob's pack and Sue's children, came in with them. Sue immediately noticed our family around the room and stiffened before she took note of our golden eyes, and seemed to remember us from Bella's and Edward's wedding. She relaxed slightly, but not entirely. Sue knew about the existence of our kind, but Charlie didn't. He knew there was something different about us, but not the specifics. Bella didn't want to put him in danger of the Volturi as well.

"Charlie, Sue, you remember our relatives from Alaska," Edward said, reintroducing us. "Carlisle's sisters, Tanya and Kate, their cousin, Eleazar, and his wife Carmen. This is Garrett, Kate's fiancé. I don't believe you've met before." Yes, Carlisle's sisters. That's how we had been introduced at the wedding, after a few people had heard that the guest list would include 'relatives from Alaska'. We looked enough alike that we could pull it off, and it better explained Carmen and Eleazar, who we didn't look related to us in any way. If Tanya and I were the cousins, where would that leave Carmen and Eleazar? We couldn't pull off Carmen as a third sister. No, it was easier this way.

"And with them engaged, that means I get to plan another wedding!" Alice bubbled, hugging Charlie. "It's going to be here, and they're staying with us until then.

"Another wedding?" Charlie asked in his deep voice. "Well, congratulations," he said. Garrett and I nodded our thanks. "How old are the two of you?" Oh, right. Edward had told us Bella's father didn't approve of marrying young, so Bella getting married at such a young age had been stressful on him. Well, there was no need to give him a reason to look down on us. "I'm twenty-five," I said. "I'm the baby of the family. Garrett's twenty-seven, same age as Tanya." Carlisle was claiming thirty at the moment, so it worked out alright.

"Well, if I remember anything about you from the wedding, you've got one hell of a dancer on your hands Garrett," Charlie muttered. Garrett chuckled, raising his eyebrow at me. I merely shrugged back, grinning at him.

"Ugh," Emmett moaned from the other couch, near Rose's legs. "They're nauseating Charlie," he said. "You're so lucky you don't have to be in same house as them for the next few weeks, until Alice can pull a wedding together. And I thought I'd seen the worst when Carlisle and Tanya kept threatening Garrett about not hurting Kate. At least that was slightly entertaining." Carlisle, Garrett, Tanya and I all laughed. Emmett was in full on actor mode today, subtlety weaving in his true complaints. Good thing we could all play along.

"Well, right now Kate has to come with me to look at wedding dresses," Alice announced, shocking me. "Jasper will keep him under control," she muttered so softly so that only I could hear. "I've had a few ordered, and some just arrived today. Ladies, upstairs with us please." Tanya, Carmen, Esme, Bella, and even Nessie all rose to their feet. Rose slowly got up off her couch, with Emmett's help. I saw Charlie eye her warily. Rose and Emmett were only supposed to be twenty, and my suspicions about Charlie disliking everything about young marriage and childbirth were confirmed. Carmen helped Rose all the way up the stairs, and Charlie lamented the loss of his granddaughter.

"Alice, come on, you have to steal Nessie away from me today?" he complained.

"Oh, you guys can just watch the baseball game. You'll have fun. Nessie's going to want to see all of Kate's pretty dresses," Alice said as she expertly scooped Nessie up into her arms. "Now come on Kate. Wearing a dress isn't going to kill you." Glancing back at Garrett, I mouthed a quick _help me_, to which he just responded with a light chuckle, then followed Alice and Nessie into Alice's room.

Once in Alice's room, I saw Rosalie lying down on the bed, rubbing her stomach. Carmen was perched at the foot of the bed, and Bella, Tanya, and Esme were sitting on the couch, Nessie running to sit on Bella's lap. Alice was rummaging through her closet, pulling five dresses covered with plastic protectors to the front, where she could easily grab them.

"Did you just order those yesterday?" I asked incredulously. Alice gave me an odd look.

"Of course not," she said, trying to decide which one she wanted me to wear first. "I've had them for days now. Ever since I saw Garrett proposing to you, which was a couple weeks ago, I had to order the dresses you wanted! I saw a few of them, but since you haven't seen them yet, the decision's not final. The one's you're torn between, however, are gorgeous, so either way you pick a good one. Yes, you can try on this one first. It's gorgeous. Oh, and by the way Tanya, I win! All of the ones Kate's choosing between are ball gowns. No mermaids!" Tanya groaned from the coach. She was adamant on me wearing a mermaid style dress, even though I had always liked ones with a fuller skirt. Maybe not the huge ones Alice had envisioned me in, but a very subtle ball gown.

The first one Alice pulled out for me was a very Alice-like dress. The top was fitted, had a sweetheart neckline, embellished with crystals, and was sheer around my stomach. The skirt was enormous, with flower designs and even more crystals at the bottom. My immediate thought was that it was too over the top, but I decided to amuse Alice and try it on anyway. She fussed with it for a good twenty minutes, making sure every proportion was spot on. She said she ordered all of the dresses in my size, but she just wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. "You only get married once Kate," she reminded me. "This isn't like high school or college, which we can do thousands of times in our lives. Vampires mate for life, and there's only one marriage with one mate. This is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity." After that, I conceded to do as she told me. I wouldn't have made any progress arguing anyway. No one did, against Alice.

Finally, she decided that everything was in place, and then ran to go get Rosalie's full length mirror from her room, and was back in a split second. She propped the mirror up against a wall and had me spin around so I could look in it.

"Now, no one say anything until she's given us her opinion!" Alice ordered as I took in the sight of myself in an actual wedding dress.

"You sound like a _Say Yes to the Dress_ episode," I muttered. Alice shrugged, but then ordered me to give my opinion. I stared at the dress for a little while longer. Now that it was on me, it was every bit as gauzy and flashy as I had expected it to be, but it somehow worked, especially with my ring. Still, I didn't know if I wanted to be this dramatic. It was beautiful, but it didn't really fit my personality.

"I'm thinking it's a little too over the top," I said, wanted to spare Alice's feelings as much as possible. But she didn't seem hurt at all. She just nodded.

"It's the kind of dress Alice would wear, but not you Kate," Tanya said, which pretty much summed the whole thing up. Her response was met with a lot of head nodding and murmurs of agreement. Alice helped me take the dress off, put it in the apparent rejects section in the back of her closet, and helped me into the next number. This one had a straight-across cut top, some crystals on the bust, but they ended before the waistline, and a skirt in which the fabric made intricate draping designs. I liked it much better than the last dress, but there was still something off, as what was with the third dress, which was similar to the second but with a different skirt pattern.

Finally, Alice brought out the fourth dress. It had a slimmer skirt than the previous three, but it could still be counted as a ball gown. It had a sweetheart neckline, with one strap entirely in the design of silver flowers, with more of the same silver flowers going extending from the bust and wrapping around the left side of my body. The skirt folded in on itself a few times, which I really liked. It was beautiful.

"Oh my God, Alice," I whispered. Alice just nodded her head, smiling. Esme, Carmen, and Bella also expressed their thoughts that they thought this was perfect for me. But Tanya and Rosalie thought it was just a little bit too understated.

"You're not a plain Jane, Kate," Tanya said. "It's beautiful, yes, but I think you can do just a little bit better. Try on that last dress Alice has, and then you can decide." Tanya did know me better than anyone, probably better than I knew myself.

Alice smiled even wider and helped me step into the fifth and final dress. I tapped my foot anxiously as I waited for her to be done fiddling with it, making sure the measurements were 100% correct. Finally, she spun me around slowly so I could look in the mirror.

This last dress had a sweetheart neckline, crystals embellishing the entire bodice, but it wasn't sheer like the first dress. The skirt folded in itself to create bow-like patterns in it, with a crystal in the center of each of the bows. It was utterly stunning.

I was struck speechless. Tanya, however, was not. "That's it Kate!" she exclaimed, before she remembered that she was supposed to be quiet. But everyone else present nodded to affirm Tanya's exclamation, even the fans of the previous dress.

Nessie hopped down from her mother's lap and walked over to me. I leaned down so her could press her palm to my face. I saw the now-familiar scene she had conjured up of mine and Garrett's wedding, only this time, she altered it a bit so that I was wearing the dress that was currently on my body. She let me know that she very firmly believed that I should wear this particular dress. I laughed as I straightened, the image falling from my head, but burned into my memories.

"Well, Nessie has spoken," I joked. "But honestly, I love this more than anything. I have to wear it."

"So you're saying what to the dress?" Tanya asked, leaning forward. I just glared at her and shook my head. No matter how much I loved the dress, she was not getting me to say the clichéd rhyme they did on _Say Yes to the Dress_. It wasn't happening. Tanya let the silence linger for a couple seconds, but finally gave in, sitting back and grumbling under her breath.

"Okay, I've got to take Renesmee downstairs before Charlie leaves," Bella said, scooping up her daughter. Even though Bella had finally taken to the nickname Nessie, she was the only one who called Nessie Renesmee on a regular basis. She softly went down the stairs, and we heard her saying goodbye to Charlie and Sue. Alice busily took the dress off of me, keeping it at the front of her closet while the others circled to the back. She was planning on selling the rejects online. After I was back in my usual clothes, we all headed back downstairs, a very satisfied look on Alice's face, which I knew was mirrored on my expression. The dress had also gone perfectly with the ring on my finger. I finally understood why those girls on the television shows Tanya was addicted to always said that they had to get a "feeling". I had dismissed it as nonsense, but now I understood. When you're wearing that one thing that makes you feel beautiful, you can picture yourself getting married. It's not the dress, but the fact that you can see yourself getting married, and the picture of getting married to Garrett made me pick that particular dress, gave me the butterflies. I wanted to be beautiful for him.

Charlie and Sue were just heading out the door when we arrived downstairs, Bella and Edward hugging them goodbye. Alice left to go make a phone call that she knew would reach Benjamin and Tia (apparently they had decided to leave Amun and Kebi for a while, which made Amun furious, but Benjamin had promised they would be back). Alice talked in quick words to them, but I didn't pay attention. If Benjamin had requested to be here, we'd see him and Tia before long. Tanya and Rosalie were giggling as they came down the stairs, being the last ones. The sound of their giggling drew Garrett's attention from the game to us on the stairs, where he glared at us.

"I'm going to find out what that dress looks like," he said. That caused me to join in Tanya's and Rose's laughing. Garrett knew just as well as the rest of us that Alice wouldn't let him get anywhere near the dress.

"Sure, you can see it," Alice said, coming out of the kitchen. "When you're saying the vows. You're not going anywhere near it until then. And don't even try. It won't end good for you, or me. Kate would be furious if I have to do anything too drastic to you, and I'd like to keep on good terms with her if you'd be so considerate."

"Um, Alice, we need to discuss the music as well," Tanya said, looking at all the plans Alice had written out. She'd brought them upstairs with us, but no one had gotten any time to peruse them. Only Alice and Esme had seen the entirety of them, and now Tanya could be added to that list. I was sure Alice wouldn't even let me see them. Bella told me Alice liked to keep big events like this a surprise, and I knew that all too well. I knew what I was getting into when I made Alice in charge. I could only hope that Esme would reign her in a bit, because Tanya was going to be no help to me in that department. She'd only encourage Alice to make the event even more extravagant.

"What about the playlist?" Alice said, rushing over to where Tanya was seated in front of Rosalie, who was also pouring over the papers intensely.

"There needs to be more country music on here," Tanya said, frowning as she read through the list. "Kate has the weirdest obsession with country music, and Garrett found that he likes it as well. But I completely agree with the choice for the first song. That fits them perfectly." Esme and Carmen also wandered over to take part in the wedding plans, in which Alice, Tanya, and Rose were discussing exactly which songs they wanted, writing them out so I wouldn't know what they were planning. Before long, it made me so infuriated that I started walking over to them, planning on shocking them lightly if I needed to. But quicker than I would have believed possible, a mountain known as Emmett knocked into me, pressing me against a wall, though not hard enough to break it.

"God damn it, Emmett, get off of me," I yelled, struggling underneath him, exerting shock as a reflex. I toned it down once I recovered from my initial shock, but it should still have been enough to knock Emmett back. But he kept me pressed to the wall, and over his shoulder I saw Bella staring at him intently. Of course. Her stupid shield was protecting Emmett. I could also see Garrett, who looked torn between wanting to come over, or letting me struggle. I could tell it amused him slightly, which only aggravated me further.

"Oh, just let her up already," Garrett said finally, crossing the room to us. "I'll keep her with me, she'll be fine. Besides, there have to be _some_ things Alice needs to consult us on. It's our wedding anyway."

"Not much," I heard Alice call from the couch. "But let her up Emmett. We've almost got everything pinned down, and after that I can put these away, or destroy them if I have to. It's all committed to memory."

Emmett grinned at me once more before releasing me. I glared at him to let him know that if I didn't care about not destroying Esme's precious things, he'd be on the floor in pain right now, gift or no gift. I went straight into Garrett's arms instead of acting upon that. I turned my glare to him, though it immediately softened upon looking into his amber eyes. "You could have come sooner," I murmured against his chest.

"I know," he murmured back, kissing the top of my head, causing Emmett to, once again, groan with annoyance. I turned back toward him, furious.

"Seriously?" I asked, voice in a deadly tone. "After a thousand years of searching, I finally find my mate, and when we want to show just the slightest bit of affection at all, you have to ruin each and every moment with your hypocrisy! You and Rose were just as bad when you found each other, and neither of you had to wait as long as I did. You will cut me some slack or I will put you on your back, writhing like a worm!" Garrett put a hand on my shoulder, because I was slowly advancing towards Emmett, who was wisely backing up, hands raised in surrender.

"Fine, I'll back off a bit," Emmett grumbled. "But I'm still entitled to make jokes. Even you find those amusing Kate, don't try to deny it." I waited a moment, but then nodded my head in agreement. That was the most I was going to get out of Emmett. His jokes were funny, and I didn't really mind those. It was the constant groaning whenever Garrett and I got the least bit affectionate around Emmett that I loathed.

"Kate, who do you want to official the ceremony?" Alice called from the couch. "Any of us could get a license off the Internet, or if you want a local minister to legalize it, that's fine. That's one of the things that's up to you."

"Oh," I said, considering the options. "I imagined that Carlisle would do it, if you don't have any objection Carlisle?" He shook his head. He'd done both Rose and Emmett's and Alice and Jasper's, so I didn't think he'd have any objections to doing mine.

"Aw, I wanted to do it," Emmett said. "Edward told me that I could have done his and Bella's if they didn't make it big. And I was seriously pissed when I got cheated out of that wonderful opportunity. Come on, Kate, let me do yours, please?" He tried giving me puppy dog eyes, but they only worked on Rosalie, and even that was an occasional occurrence.

"How about we wrestle for it?" Garrett suddenly called from behind me. "You win, you can do it, I win, Kate can have her wish and Carlisle can do it." Emmett grinned that familiar mischievous grin that I had come to associate with danger.

"You're on," he said. "Backyard, right now. Why wait? Let's decide this now. Alice will go crazy if we make her wait too long."

"You're on," Garrett replied. I looked up at him, big pleading eyes, to which he scoffed at. "What? Are you doubting me Katie? Because that just hurts. I've already beat him once, don't forget. I just want to prove to him that I can do it again. Don't worry, you'll get your wish, Carlisle will be the official, and everything will turn out fine." I still had some lingering doubts, but after a minute I consented. Garrett wouldn't do anything stupid. He knew how to fight, and fight well. And he'd already beaten Emmett before.

Garrett and Emmett headed out into the backyard, where all of us except Rosalie (who was watching from the window) gathered by the door. Garrett and Emmett circled each other slowly, twin mischievous smiles on their faces. I looked on in speculation, barely restraining myself from jumping in between them and putting an end to it. I was going to kill Garrett if he lost this…

Emmett jumped first, and after that, I think he and Garrett caused a minor earthquake to the Olympic Peninsula. Most one on one vampire fights could be described as a deadly dance, almost beautiful to watch. But not these two. They could never match the grace needed for a dance while they were fighting.

The fight went on for an extreme amount of time. I didn't think we'd ever find two vampires as evenly matched as Garrett and Emmett. Finally, it ended, and I turned away before I could see who was pinned, not wanting to see the result. My sight wasn't necessary. Emmett let out a whoop so loud, I was pretty sure we would have heard it all the way up in our house in Denali. I pressed the first two fingers on each of my hands to my temples, keeping my eyes closed, lowering my head.

I heard heavy footfalls make their way toward me, and if I knew anything about Emmett from past experiences with him, I knew he was about to sling an arm around my shoulders, which would end badly for him. I couldn't control the slight flow of electricity that I was exerting from every pore. "Emmett, it wouldn't be wise to touch me right now. I'm really trying to concentrate on not killing Garrett," I said, keeping my eyes closed. For once, Emmett heeded my warning, backing off a bit.

"Watch out for your marriage night," he whispered to Garrett, who didn't reply. I waited until I'd heard everyone but Garrett retreat into the house before I lifted my head and opened my eyes. Garrett was standing in front of me, a very cautious look on his face.

"You promised you wouldn't lose," I said. Garrett's eyes immediately grew just a bit wider at my tone, and he hesitantly opened his mouth, prepared to defend himself. I took one step forward, and then another. Garrett didn't step back once, like almost anyone else would have. Impressive. So impressive that I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my lips. Garrett's expression changed from that of a 'caught-in-the-act' one to extreme confusion.

"What did I do this time?" he asked, completely bewildered.

"You actually thought I was serious about being that pissed!" I exclaimed. "I honestly don't care if Emmett officiates the wedding. I was hoping for Carlisle, but Emmett will definitely make it memorable and funny. I'm not that uptight."

Garrett blinked once, then threw back his head, joining me in my laughter. "You can't expect me to know everything Katie," he said after a couple moments. "Four months is nowhere near enough time for me to unravel the mystery that is you, nor do I ever think I'll completely solve the puzzle. But that's one of my favorite things about you. You always keep me guessing. You're not static like so many others."

I let out one last, light laugh, before crossing the rest of the distance between us, throwing my arms around his neck and lifting myself on my toes to kiss him. But our lips had barely touched when Adele's _21_ CD came blaring from the house, and Garrett stiffened.

"Tanya," he growled, making her name sound like a curse. For the past four months, Tanya had been turning on Adele at random times, infuriating Garrett when she did so. He didn't much like pop music to begin with, and seeing that Adele was British made everything worse. "Turn it off," he yelled at Tanya, who was grinning widely at us from the window. She just shook her head and began mouthing the words.

"Dear Lord," Garrett muttered under his breath. "I swear, she does that one more time, and I'm destroying that damn CD." He waited for a couple of seconds, then apparently decided that he couldn't take it anymore. He started for the house, Tanya watching his every step. As he opened the door, she turned the CD off and just smiled up at him. I rolled my eyes and joined them in the house. Garrett and Tanya were arguing, as usual. Tanya said she was perfectly entitled to listen to whatever music she liked, and Garrett persisted that she only turned it on to annoy him. Tanya didn't necessarily deny it, but she didn't outright confirm what we already knew either. Most everyone else was watching in amusement, all except for Emmett, who had the task of getting more blood for Rosalie.

After a while I got a bit tired of the constant bickering that went on between Tanya and Garrett. They really had taken to each other like brother and sister, which I was thrilled about, but since they were both so stubborn, arguments were inevitable. I just went over to the CD player, took out the Adele CD, and held it up in front of them.

"If you two play nice until the wedding, I'll give this back to you Tanya," I said. "And if you start arguing with her, Garrett, I'll play this." Tanya and Garrett both looked at me a moment, then decided I was serious. They backed off each other, hands held up in surrender. I smiled at them briefly, then went upstairs to put the CD in my small case of clothes.

When I got back downstairs, Carlisle was discussing a possible hunting trip, just a quick one. Emmett, of course, had to stock up for Rose, and Esme, Tanya, Carmen, and Jasper had to go as well. Normally, Bella and Edward went with Nessie during the day, but Edward's eyes were slowly turning to onyx, so Bella persuaded him to go. She had to take Nessie home to their cottage soon anyway. Dark was falling quickly. That left me in the house with Rosalie, Eleazar, Alice, and Garrett.

Alice and Rose were content to finalize any wedding plans they might have overlooked, down to the last flower and ribbon. Alice kept the list for Tanya, Carmen, and Esme to check over when they got back, but she kept a strict eye on it so that I wouldn't even have a chance of glimpsing it. But by this time, I'd just have to trust that Alice knew what she was doing, which she always did.

As she was just finishing her plans, her eyes suddenly went blank, a sure sign that she was having a vision. She was unfocused for a second, but then she smiled wide. She turned to Garrett, where he was lying with me on top of him on one of the couches. "Nice choice!" she complimented, utterly baffling me. I furrowed my eyebrows in her direction.

"Garrett's got a good plan for your honeymoon," she said happily. "I told him when I gave him the picture of the ring that the honeymoon was the _only_ thing he'd have complete control over, and he definitely made use of that. But do me a favor and don't try to get it out of him. It'll be better if it's a surprise."

"Because I just adore surprises," I grumbled, sarcasm lacing every word. But I promised her I wouldn't pry. Because, as always, she'd be right. She always was.

Rose stretched out on the couch, uncomfortable without her supply of blood. She'd just drained the last of it, but she still wanted more. Emmett would be hunting constantly until she gave birth, I was sure. At least that gave me the opportunity to kiss Garrett in front of others… Though I'd miss some of his jokes, that was sure.

Tanya, Emmett, and the others returned a half hour later, minus Edward, whom I was sure went to the cottage to be with his wife and daughter. Emmett stayed outside to drain the elk he'd caught for Rosalie, catching the blood in cups. Once the first cup was filled, Esme ran out to take it and handed it to Rose, who drank it as if her life depended on it. Emmett stayed outside to completely drain all three elk he had brought. Esme and Carlisle were constantly there, taking each cup as it was filled, bringing it inside to a fridge filled for this purpose. Finally, Emmett disposed of the carcasses, coming inside.

"God, that makes hunting so much more complicated," he complained. "I have to catch them when we're almost home, to make sure the blood is as fresh as it can be, and it takes forever to completely drain them without drinking them. It's easier if I've just hunted, but still. She needs more feeding than I do."

"Oh, stop complaining. The rewards will all be worth it once it's all over with," Esme chastised lightly. Carlisle nodded in agreement, as Emmett bounced on the balls of his feet, anxious and excited at the same time. The baby would be here before we knew it, and joy would ring throughout the Cullen house. The only question was what would happen first, the wedding or the baby? I could only hope that Alice would take a little while to pull the wedding together. As much as I wanted to be married to Garrett as soon as possible, I needed to be there for the birth of my niece or nephew.


	11. Chapter 11

The next couple weeks passed by in a blur. Alice was constantly bringing boxes into her room, refusing to let me see what was inside any of them. One day, she and Tanya took a trip up to Denali to grab what I assumed were CD's, from what I caught from their whispers. None of the Cullen's were huge country fans, though Jasper had a few CD's. It wasn't enough to satisfy Tanya and Alice however, so they pilfered my collection instead. I wouldn't have minded, except they didn't let me listen to any of the CD's they brought back with them, which annoyed me to no end. I needed my country fix.

While preparation for the wedding was making me aggravated, Garrett was my rock. I found myself escaping into the shelter his arms provided me more than usual. Because while I wanted, needed all of this, there was something missing, blatantly glaring me in the face.

Irina should have seen me get married. Irina should have been my third bridesmaid, along with Tanya and Carmen. Irina should have gotten the chance to meet Garrett at all, for crying out loud. She would have loved him. He'd have treated her like a little sister, just like he acted with Tanya. I wanted my sister, missed her desperately. More than once, I visited her memorial that was still there, looking just a bit weathered, but that just added to its beauty. Flowers and green grass was cropping up in the field, giving the whole scene an otherworldly appearance. Sometimes, I felt like I was trespassing on a fairytale, except in a fairytale the good guys never died. There wouldn't be a grave marker in the center.

Garrett went with me most days, as did Tanya. Carmen or Eleazar occasionally accompanied us, or one of the Cullen's. But the two days before the wedding, I snuck out while Tanya, Carmen and Eleazar were hunting and Alice was preoccupied with the wedding plans. Garrett had asked if I wanted him there, of course, but I denied his presence this time. I had to visit Irina alone.

The day was unusually sunny, and my skin sparkled and shined when I stepped out into the clearing. My ring, which I refused to take off my finger, glistened, happily scattering the sun's rays into beams of light. Irina's memorial stood tall right behind a group of budding _Nepeta x faassenii, _or catmint. But there was a small space of plain grass right in front, which had fresh dirt underneath it. I dug up the dirt, and then slowly put a few of the seeds Esme had given me into the ground. She told me that the natural rains would make the seeds bloom into forget-me-not before I knew it, which was what I wanted. They were Irina's favorite flowers, and the name was especially fitting. She deserved to have some in her final resting place.

I stayed there for a long time after I planted the flowers. I stared at the words that Tanya and I had asked Benjamin to engrave on the stone. Was it only four months ago? It felt like so much longer.

I was struck by sudden inspiration. The words didn't take up a lot of space on the rock. There was plenty of room between the words and the ground. I wouldn't be able to do this as neatly or efficiently as Benjamin, but he and Tia wouldn't be arriving until sometime tomorrow. Besides, I wanted to do this myself. I wanted to make this personal.

Using my finger, I wrote two words in the stone. It took a while, but my strength was far superior to the rock. Drawing a line under the words, I wrote my name, so when I was done the rock read thus:

TO IRINA DENALI, BELOVED SISTER, DAUGHTER, AND FRIEND. MAY THE WORLD HONOR HER AND REMEMBER THE POWER SHE DARED TO DEFY. YOU WILL FOREVER BE LOVED.

IN REMEMBERANCE

KATE DENALI

Staring at the monument for a second, I stood up suddenly and ran back to the Cullen's. The hunting group was just returning, and I grabbed Tanya's arm, calling for the others to follow us. Curious, they all ran after me (except Rosalie, but she could see after she gave birth), and before we were back in the clearing. Tanya was the first to reach to stone and see what I did. She let out a surprised and sad little gasp, pressing her hands to her mouth. But she took one away to write her name under mine.

Slowly, they all took turns to add their names to the memorial. Carmen, Eleazar, and Garrett went right after Tanya, and then the Cullen's came forward. Even Bella and Nessie, who hadn't known Irina at all, took their turns.

As Nessie, the last one to add her name, finished inscribing the letters in the rock, we all stood there for another, heads bowed in respect. Slowly, one by one they retreated back to the house. Rosalie was scheduled to give birth either today or tomorrow, so it was imperative for Emmett and Carlisle to be by her side at all times, at the least. She would need Esme and Carmen as well, the motherly ones, to hold her hand and be supportive throughout the process. That's what we had to do for Esme. Otherwise, the mother focused on the pain, and Carlisle said that's not what he wanted to happen. Focusing on the pain would drag out the experience.

Finally, it was only me and Garrett left in the clearing. I knew that he wasn't going to leave until I did. Without turning away from the monument, I held my arm out behind me, and within an instant, Garrett had grabbed hold of my hand and I pulled his arm around my torso. His other arm wrapped around me. I put my free hand over Garrett's which was rested right under my right shoulder. I rested my cheek over our twined hands as we rocked back and forth slightly. He pressed his lips to the top of my head, and I leaned into him. He was my strength. He'd get me through missing Irina in the next couple of days. Only him.

After a few more minutes, I gave a deep breath and turned around, but promising to visit Irina again. I kissed the tip of Garrett's nose, all the thanks that was needed between the two of us. Quickly, we started running back towards the Cullen's house. I couldn't miss Rosalie giving birth, and Carlisle was sure it would happen soon, early tomorrow at the latest.

Sure enough, just as the house came into view, Carmen was running up to us. "She's just gone into labor," Carmen told us breathlessly. My eyes widened in excitement, and we ran back to the house, eager to see Rose and Emmett's new baby.

As we entered, Rose let out a scream that should have never come from a vampire. But I was prepared for it, seeing as Esme had let out similar sounds while in labor. Garrett however, was not. He fell back a little, clearly startled. "Is that supposed to happen?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yes, she's fine, now come on!" I urged, tugging at his hand. He came with me, somewhat reluctantly, but once we were in proximity with the room Carlisle had set up, which contained a medical bed and bags upon bags of blood, an unusual calmness seeped over me. And sure enough, I could tell that Jasper was concentrating to keep everyone's emotions from going over the top, especially Rosalie's. We were positive that having Jasper present, something Esme didn't have, would make the delivery exceptionally easier for Rose.

For hours longer, Rose was in labor. She was constantly demanding blood, which made the pain more bearable and helped speed the baby along. Emmett looked like he was going to pass out the entire time, even whiter than his usual pale complexion. Alice and Esme were especially excited, and we could hear Nessie downstairs arguing with Bella. She wanted to be up here with the rest of us, but Bella insisted that she wasn't ready to see someone give birth yet. The only reason Bella won that argument was promising to let Nessie see births in her later years. Bella was sure that Rose would have a second baby, so she conceded to let Nessie be present for that one.

After hours, when it was late in the night, Carlisle finally told Rose that the baby was ready to come out. Her body had finally stretched, which should have been impossible. It still would have been, if someone was not present. Carlisle had to help dilate her, since her diamond body wouldn't do it on its own. But after the baby was out, she would return to normal. Esme had, in any case.

One of Rose's hands was in Emmett's and the other in Esme's. She was squeezing both hands to the point where I was almost positive they were going to break off. Carmen was Carlisle's biggest asset, basically acting as a nurse. Jasper kept her mood mostly controlled, though he could do nothing about her pain. Still, his influence seemed to draw Rosalie's mind from the pain more often. The rest of us hovered anxiously, almost as eager as Rosalie herself to finally see the long-expected baby.

Rose was obviously at the peak of her pain, but Carlisle and Esme talked her through it. After a particularly violent scream, she flopped down on the bed, utterly exhausted. Carlisle was holding a small, wailing infant in his arms. He quickly cleaned the child off, and then placed it in Rosalie's waiting arms.

I had a wonderful view, peering over Rose's shoulder. The baby was a boy, and the few wisps of hair on his head were as blonde as Rose's. His eyes were opened, and though they were rimmed with tears, they were bright blue, the same shade Emmett's had been before he was fully changed.

Rose looked at her baby, sobbing happy tears she couldn't cry. Emmett too, looked down at his son with wonder. Carmen handed Rose a bottle already filled with blood. It was human's, but came from the donated blood Carlisle was able to acquire from the hospital he worked at. The baby began sucking on it eagerly, gulping the hot blood down his throat. While I didn't think there would be a problem, I glanced at Garrett just to be sure he was comfortable in this environment with the human blood. But his features betrayed no hint of a struggle. Instead, he his mouth was slightly gaping in amazement at the beautiful boy Rosalie held in her arms.

"What's his name?" Alice asked eagerly.

"Like you don't already know," Rose teased lightly. But she looked at Emmett, eyes glowing, and a silent conversation passed between them. "Jonathan," Rose said affectionately, turning her gaze back to her son. I remember Jonathan being one of the names she had told me she and Emmett were considering. After a couple more moments, Rosalie lifted her head towards Emmett, where they kissed quickly.

"Here, hold him," Rose said to Emmett. He looked scared momentarily, but then nodded. Emmett was so big, he could have easily held Jonathan in one arm, but being cautions, cradled the babe in both. He'd just finished his bottle of blood, and an animal-filled one was being given to Rosalie. I had to give her praise for never, not once, giving in to the temptation and drinking human blood. I was sure that I wouldn't be able to do that if and when I got pregnant. It would be interesting to see what choice Carmen would make in her final months.

Slowly, Jonathan was passed around the room. Alice claimed him after Emmett, and then Esme, to Carmen, to Tanya. I hovered over Tanya's shoulder, anxious for my turn. After a few minutes, Tanya smiled and handed Jonathan to me.

He was so _tiny_. And he looked a lot like Rose. Sure, there were a few traits that were similar to Emmett's, but I could tell Jonathan would take after his mother, as far as looks went. His personality was impossible to discern, as of now. Only time could reveal if his inner nature would be more like Emmett's or Rosalie's.

He wasn't crying anymore. His wide blue eyes were darting around, drinking in everything that he could see. Edward was staring at him in fascination. Apparently, he found the child's mind an interesting place. I wished that I had Edward's gift at the moment. What a special privilege, to know the mind of a baby! To know the complete innocence, the wonder of the world that they're suddenly thrust into. Fascinating indeed.

Realizing that I'd had my share of time with Jonathan, I turned towards Garrett, preparing to hand the baby to him. Garrett held out his arms a little nervously, unsure of what to do. But by imitating what I'd done, he was supporting Jonathan the way babies need to be supported, especially the head. Garrett stared with absolute amazement down at Jonathan's face.

Looking on at them, I wanted to give Garrett his own child. I wanted to give him the experience and joy of being a father himself. And I myself wanted to know Rosalie's ecstasy. Both she and Esme have remarked that being pregnant and having the knowledge that you're about to have a baby was the most beautiful, poignant experience. I craved that for myself.

"Alright, Garrett, give him back to Rose for a moment!" Alice bubbled, camera in hand. Garrett carefully handed Jonathan to Rosalie, and Emmett lowered himself so he was on his knees, close to his wife and newborn child. Alice snapped a couple pictures of the three of them, and then insisted on shots of the baby being held by everyone there. Nessie was the only one not there, seeing as she fell asleep. She was sleeping in Edward's room instead of the cottage tonight. Eventually, Alice was satisfied with the pictures, and Jonathan, now asleep, was back in his mother's arms. We slowly trickled out of the room, leaving Rose and Emmett by themselves with their new addition.

Alice was a blur of motion the rest of the day. As the night slowly gave way to the golden color of dawn, she was insistent on setting up most of the decorations for the wedding that would take place tomorrow.

Tomorrow! I was actually getting married tomorrow. The feeling was so overwhelming it was almost incomprehensible. The feeling would be even more surreal the next day, when I saw the decorations for the first time. When she began decorating, it became Tanya's job to keep me and Garrett away from the rest of the house. She stayed with us in Rosalie's and Emmett's vacant bedroom, and if Alice needed her help on something, Carmen or Esme would take Tanya's place. Garrett, at least, would see everything before I did when he came home tomorrow. I had whispers about Emmett, Edward, and Jasper taking him out for a bachelor party of sorts. I could only dream about what that meant.

Throughout the day, we heard vampires bustling in and out of the house. Rose's bedroom had a spectacular view of the backyard, but Alice wisely wasn't concentrating most of the attention on that particular area. Besides, when she put up the same large covering that she'd used for Edward and Bella's wedding, we couldn't see anything that was happening underneath it.

Benjamin and Tia visited sometime near noon. I hugged both of them in greeting, thrilled to see them again. They told us how they had been travelling both Europe and a bit of Africa. I could see Garrett's wanderlust sparkling in his eyes, and knew that we would have to take a trip somewhere soon. Emmett came in, invited Benjamin on what he explicitly called a bachelor party. Benjamin agreed, curious as to what it was. My apprehension only grew when Emmett flashed his signature devilish smile at me. Benjamin and Tia left the room a little while later, to meet Jonathan and help with the decorations.

Alice was the next visitor, and she steered me out of the room, though making sure I wouldn't see the rest of the house by leading me further down the hall, away from the stairs, into her room. She fit me into my wedding dress one last time, even procuring a simple veil for me to wear. A couple closed suitcases were on her bed, but she told me those were just some things that I'd need for my honeymoon. Bella, who was also in the room, told me to be wary of whatever Alice had packed. She said when she and Edward arrived at their destination, she found that Alice had bought French lingerie, which Bella had been completely shocked to see. I had quite a nasty feeling that what I would find would be just as bad or worse.

"Oh, you made use for it," Alice said. "Don't even try to pretend that it didn't come in handy. Yes, I think this fits just fine. How does she look Bella?" Bella looked me up and down.

"She looks amazing, as usual," Bella said. Alice wouldn't let me look into a mirror this time, because she wanted me to get the full effect tomorrow when I was all dolled up. She quickly removed the dress from my body, I redressed in my usual clothes, and Alice steered me back to Rosalie's room, where Tanya and Garrett were waiting for me. She put her hands over my eyes this time, knowing that I might be able to glimpse down the hall and catch a snippet of the decorations she had laid out.

Rosalie brought Jonathan in for us just as the sun was dipping below the horizon, throwing shades of gold everywhere I looked. For giving birth just hours earlier, Rosalie looked spectacular. It was as if after she gave birth, glow and joy were injected into her veins. She shined just like the morning sun. Nessie too joined us, but her attention was captivated by Jonathan. Good thing for Alice. Alice was reluctant to let Nessie see us, because she didn't want Nessie showing us anything she'd seen downstairs. But Nessie had never seen a baby before, other than muddled images of herself in the mirror or pictures from months past. She wanted to show Jonathan some of the things she's learned, but Rosalie was a little cautious about that. None of us knew how that would affect the baby, but Rose didn't take any chances. She told Nessie that when Jonathan was older, she could show him some memories, but not at the moment. Needless to say, that made Nessie frustrated, but she accepted Rose's words, especially after Bella and Edward reinforced them.

After that, the sun disappeared almost completely. I'd been tracking it's movements outside the window. Exactly three seconds after the horizon consumed it, Emmett, Jasper, Edward, and Benjamin came into the room to collect Garrett for whatever they had planned.

"What exactly is this little party entailing?" I asked with my arms crossed.

"Relax, Kate," Emmett said. "We're just taking him out to wrestle with a bear. He hasn't gotten a chance to do that yet, and believe me, you should have the chance to wrestle with a few irritated grizzly bears in your lifetime."

"Oh yes, how idiotic of me. I should have known, because all sane people think of that," I said, though I was laughing.

"Anyway, what are you going to be doing tonight?" Emmett inquired. "Don't expect me to believe that you're going to be content just sitting in Rose's room for the next few hours."

"Nope," I replied. "Tanya, Carmen, and Alice are taking me out to a male stripper club," I continued, perfectly nonchalantly.

"What?" Garrett asked, head snapping in the direction of Tanya and I on the bed. We both just nodded with devious, slightly naughty smiles on our faces. Thank God I could count on Tanya to keep up the act.

"She's kidding Garrett," Edward reassured him. The smile immediately dropped from my face as I turned the glare at Edward.

"Come on, you totally ruined the joke," I said. "Did you see the expression on his face? That was utterly priceless. And I'd like to see him try to wrestle a bear with that on his mind. Me getting thoroughly worshipped-"

"Alright, I don't want to hear anymore," Garrett said quickly, cutting me off, and causing me to laugh. "I'm the only one who gets to worship you." With that he came over to kiss me goodbye. I suppose he intended it to be quick and chaste, but I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in closer, deepening the kiss.

"Alright, come on lover boy, we got bears that are just begging to be pissed off," Emmett said, and I reluctantly let Garrett go. "You're going to have one hell of a time tomorrow night," Emmett told me, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "I'm betting on an earthquake of 4.5. Anyone want to take me up on that?" Benjamin and Jasper roared with laughter and even Edward couldn't suppress the light chuckle that escaped him. I just rolled my eyes and kicked them out, jokingly reminding them to bring Garrett home in one piece tomorrow. Once they left, Alice, Carmen, Esme, Rosalie, Bella, and Tia came up into my room. All of us except for Rosalie would be going hunting tonight. Rose chose to remain with Jonathan, and everyone supported her choice on that matter.

We exited through the window, Alice making sure to cover my eyes until we were under the safety of the trees. After that, we were free to open our senses to the animals around us. This was Tia's first time hunting like a vegetarian. She was willing to try it once, but had no intentions of committing to it, and neither did Benjamin. It didn't matter to me either way. I knew that our lifestyle was out of the norm, but it was a personal preference. I wouldn't condemn anyone for not eating the same way we did. It meant a lot that Tia and Benjamin were willing to even give it one try for the night.

I pulled my hair back at the demand of Alice. She didn't want it to get too messy for tomorrow. She was already going to wash it before anyways, insisting that I had to look my absolute best. I wasn't too concerned with the fact, seeing as my hair rarely got caught on any branches while I was hunting anyway, but I did it to humor Alice.

The night was successful for me, catching quite a few elk and even a couple mountain lions, satiating my thirst. Tia didn't complain once, though she did remark on our return home that she was unsure if she could ever get used to the taste after consuming human blood for so long and praised us all for having the strength to do so. She also commented that she thought Garrett's reform to vegetarianism extraordinary, given how quickly he'd been able to adapt. Pride swelled up within me when I heard that. I couldn't have been prouder of how Garrett had changed, how his convictions had been so strong to change so willingly.


	12. Chapter 12

We reached the house just before dawn, and Alice covered my eyes once more. She led me over near Rose's window so I could jump up, growled at me that I had better keep my eyes closed if I wanted to keep them, and removed her hands. Not especially wanting to piss off Alice at the moment, I kept my eyes shut tight as I jumped. I wouldn't be hurting anything but the house if I accidentally knocked into something. But my memory proved true, and the combination of the angle Alice placed me in the yard and the force and trajectory from where I left the room had my feet landing on Rose's windowsill, where Carlisle was waiting in case something should go wrong. I opened my eyes just in time to see Alice land daintily on her feet in the room followed by Tanya, Carmen, Esme, Bella, and Tia. Alice immediately steered me into her bathroom, where she ordered a chair be brought in and to dip my head over the sink. Tanya immediately carried out her orders, and before I could blink, I was in a white cotton robe and Alice was washing my long blonde hair with her small hands. She finished with the task quickly, and exited the room to join everyone else in putting the final touches on her decorations. As night gave way to dawn, she became even busier. I closed my eyes throughout most of the process, concentrating on mundane things. Occasionally I heard an odd clicking sound, but it didn't register with me.

"Alice, I swear, if you went overboard with this, I will kill you," I said during one of the times she was in the bathroom with me. Predictably, now that the wedding was impending, she was bustling in and out from where I was, torn between her need to triple check every detail, make sure that everything went according to her plans, and getting me ready. She was also busy ensuring that no one would mess with any of her plans. No one did, of course. They valued their lives too much.

"Yes, yes, I heard you the first couple thousand times Kate," Alice said distractedly. "Tanya, can you start with her hair? It's going to take the longest." Ever enthusiastic Tanya, who had come back into the room with Alice, eagerly picked up the curling iron that had been slowly heating up and began curling small sections of my now dry hair so that the sections fell in tight spirals down my back. Alice had already foreseen that the process would take two hours due to the length of my hair. I could do a quick job in thirty minutes at the most, but that wouldn't suffice for Alice on my wedding day. Everything had to be set to perfection. I thought back to her wedding with Jasper, and just how crazy and over the top it had been. Flowers of every kind, decorations strewn all over the house that they had been living in (Minnesota at the time), and Alice had changed dresses three different times. It had been insanity.

Rosalie and Bella came it, carrying their children. Nessie was still captivated by Jonathan, and was rarely not in his company. Subsequently, she was with Rose every hour of the day she wasn't sleeping. Neither Rosalie nor Bella were ready yet, and Alice was quick to comment on it, ordering them in their dresses. Bella put Nessie down on the floor, and Rosalie handed Jonathan to me.

He was adorable. He had a little more of his blonde hair than at birth, though the change wouldn't be at all noticeable to a human. His blue eyes were opened wide, taking in the scene. Nessie wandered over to us, content to just stare at Jonathan's face.

I imagined a baby of my own, with Garrett one day. I'd have the same happiness I saw in Rosalie's face when she held Jonathan for the first time. And Garrett would be a fantastic father, I just knew it.

"They're back," Carmen announced, coming into the room. Unlike Bella and Rosalie, she was completely ready, with her shimmering sapphire gown on and her dark hair done up neatly in an elegant twist. Alice shrieked at her words and slammed the door shut, locking it.

"Close the blinds!" she yelled, and Bella, who was closest to the small window, did so, looking quite alarmed.

"Alice, calm down, Garrett wouldn't even dare-" Bella began, but Alice cut her off.

"Apparently, he's going to be crazy enough to try. I've already seen it!" she said. "But there is no way I'm letting him get even a glimpse. He doesn't get to see Kate until she comes down the stairs. If I have to rip him into pieces and put him back together again when it's time, I will!"

"Objection," I said, putting my hand up like I was in court. "No dismembering the groom please."

"You said yourself that I had full reign on this except for the guest list," Alice said. "So if I have to dismember him, I will. It'll be a last resort, I'll promise you that. It depends on how far he wants to push me. If he messes up anything-"

"He won't go that extreme Alice," Tanya said. "He just likes messing with people. But he knows that you'll interrupt his wedding to Kate if he goes too far. He wants this just as much as she does, trust me. I've lived with the guy for the past four months. He's learned his boundaries, living with me."

"Yes, well, right now I need him to be distracted. Carmen, can you take care of that? Just tell all the guys to keep him busy. Benjamin and Tia can help with that. Just keep him out of here, at all costs!" Alice said as she tried to choose the makeup that she would need from her plenteous supply. I counted 20 huge pallets of eye shadow, several tubes of mascara, and eyeliner of every color imaginable. Carmen carefully exited the room, barely opening the door wide enough for her to slip out. Alice locked it behind her, and then set to work on my makeup. She didn't have very many products out, which was a relief, but knowing Alice, she would find a way to make this take a very long time.

"Oh, he better not do that," Alice grumbled after a moment. She had obviously just had another vision. She turned to Rosalie, who had just finished getting into a simple gold gown and let her hair drop into a waterfall of the same color down her back. She took Jonathan from me the instant she was done. "Rose, go tell Emmett that he better not dare change the music to a Beatles track. That's not going to go over well. And Tanya and I spent so much time picking out all that country music. I am not letting our hard work go to waste."

"I don't know, that might actually be really amusing," I said. Garrett hated the Beatles more than anything. I'd pay to see his reaction if he ever heard them again. Alice glared at me however, and I knew that there was no point arguing with her.

Rosalie laughed, then she too exited the room very carefully. Seeing something outside, she shut the door very quickly and Alice jumped over Tanya to lock it. Judging from the slight scuffle outside, I guessed that Garrett was right there, trying to get a glimpse of me before the actual wedding. My guesses were confirmed as I heard Carmen say, "Get back Garrett. Alice will kill you, and I'm not joking about that. You'll see Kate soon enough. Please, just a bit of patience until then. Why don't you go make sure Emmett doesn't change the music to the Beatles while you're up here, distracted."

"He wouldn't," I heard Garrett mutter, then his footsteps fled down the stairs to make sure Emmett was behaving. A soft knock came at the door, and Alice opened it to let Carmen and Rosalie back in.

"I heard about the situation," Carmen said, smiling. "Figured I'd make him go fix that. Better to kill two birds with one stone."

"Thanks a ton, Carmen," Alice said in a weary sort of way, and set about finishing my makeup. She didn't use much, which in itself was a miracle. I was done in a very quick amount of time. The hair, however, was a different story. Tanya was nowhere near done with it yet.

"Oh, stop worrying about the time, Kate," Alice said. "He still needs to get ready too, in case you were wondering. He's still in those awful clothes of his. I swear, my wedding gift to you will be a shopping trip with me. Both of you need it, but especially him."

"That would be utterly terrifying Alice," I said, closing my eyes and just letting Tanya finish my hair. Alice bustled around in her busy way, but I didn't bother listening. Bella had told me that Alice wouldn't let anyone else mess with her plans, but it would all turn out perfect anyway. I trusted Alice with my life, and as long as Garrett mostly behaved himself, it would all work out smoothly. The only thing I was slightly worried about now was Emmett. I had no doubts in my mind that the majority of the ceremony would be him making sex jokes. At least the audience would be having a good time, and if I was being honest with myself, I would too.

"And… you're done!" Tanya announced, sounding quite pleased. I tried turning to look in the mirror, but Alice grabbed my shoulders and steered me to her walk-in closet. My dress was in a large plastic bag, hanging up on the inside of her door. I untied my robe and Alice eased the dress out of the bag and had me step into it. She raised it up and zipped it easily. She had me turn in a few circles, fixing even the most minor of mistakes. Finally, she placed that same veil she had me wear yesterday. The said veil fell to the floor, complete with a small jeweled top in my hair. The veil had blue accents in it, adding just a hint of color. Finally, Alice stepped back, admiring her work.

"Well, that's the best that I can do with you. Just remember to smile, Kate. It's not your funeral," Alice said, hurrying to get her own dress on.

"That's not why I'm not smiling at the moment," I said softly, so only Tanya could hear. Despite how wonderful this day was going to be, I was missing one of my bridesmaids, one of my sisters. Irina should be here to share the day with me. There was an empty gap that should be filled with her presence, and nothing could ever fill that hole. Yes, I had let myself be happy again, but always, always, her absence would be felt. And I would never try to replace her. Tanya and I had made that promise to her. Rosalie would not fill in as my third bridesmaid in the place of Irina. I loved Rosalie, but she wasn't Irina.

Tanya came over and enveloped me in a hug. A choked sob escaped from my throat, but I knew that Irina would want this for me. All she ever wanted was mine and Tanya's happiness. And she'd approve of Garrett. I knew she would. Even though she couldn't be here today, Irina would be such an important player. This was for Irina just as much as it was for me.

Tanya released me a moment later to go put on her own dress and fix her hair to match Carmen's. I looked down at my own dress, the only one that Alice had gotten for me to consider that was truly perfect for me. Sure, I had liked some others, but this one really struck a chord inside me. It was perfect for the _deeply_ hidden little girl inside of me who had come to full prominence during this wedding process.

Alice insisted on a taking a few pictures of me, and then some with Tanya and Carmen, before she got the entire thing underway. "Alright, alright, let's go!" Alice all but squealed. "Where's Carlisle? He better be up here in the next thirty seconds! And Bella, I don't care if Nessie doesn't want to go downstairs, you had better get her down, and Rose, you've got to get down as well to start playing. This wedding's not going to start itself people, move!" As always, when Alice gave orders, they were carried out without question. Rosalie, Jonathan, Bella, and Nessie disappeared downstairs, and they were replaced by Carlisle. Tanya was almost buzzing with excitement and even Carmen looked like her usually well composed emotions might all spill out today.

Carlisle looked immaculate as always in an understated suit. Even though he was the head of the Olympic coven, Tanya, Irina and I had always looked to him as the sort of father figure that we had never known. I had asked him to give me away today, and he had agreed graciously.

We all stepped out of Alice's bathroom and headed for the top of the stairs, which had been decorated with white bows and freesia. Rosalie's expert fingers began playing at the piano, and at that moment, I started freaking out. My breathing got louder and heavier, and if I was still human, I was almost positive I would've fainted.

"Um, Kate, ow," Carlisle said lightly. I looked at his arm, which I had been clutching in a vice like grip. My hand had a faint hum of electricity radiating from it, which I hadn't even noticed until Carlisle pointed it out. I apologized immediately, loosened my grip, and regained control over my ability.

"You're not getting cold feet are you?" Tanya joked as Carmen began her descent down the stairs.

"It's just surreal," I whispered out, not even remotely close to a joking or sarcastic mood, a feat for me. Tanya just laughed lightly and made to follow Carmen. I counted her footsteps, and all but pulled Carlisle down with me. He easily kept me at a more reasonable pace, which I was thankful for. It would be just like me to try and run down and actually catch my feet of the hem of the dress. I could hear Emmett's jokes about that already…

Slowly walking down the winding stairs that continued the pattern of white bows and freesia all the way to the bottom, I was met with the scent of more freesia, roses, lilac, lavender, and even the distinctive but understated smell of forget-me-not. White bows decorated the seats where our small number of guests sat, and the piano had even been painted a new shade of glossy gold. I could only imagine how many favors Alice had to cash in for Edward to agree to that.

But my attention was commanded at the end of the living room, which had been completely stripped of all its usual furniture, almost a complete replica to Edward and Bella's wedding nine months earlier. Garrett was standing there, waiting for me, in an actual tux. I fought the sudden urge to laugh. Garrett in a tuxedo? Even I hadn't imagined Alice would get him in one. Nicer things than he usually wore, yes, but Alice had definitely surprised me with what she had gotten away with.

Finally, I reaching him, and Carlisle gently placed my hand in his. He took the other one without any prompting, and squeezed them lightly.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," I whispered back, both of us wearing enormous smiles.

"Dear family and friends," Emmett started, purposely sounding overly formal. "We are gathered here today to witness the binding union of Kate and Garrett of the Denali coven… which is really just an excuse for them to have sex all the time, seeing as they still supposedly hold to 'old-fashioned values'." And let the sex jokes begin. I just barely stifled a chuckle at his words though, and many people behind me let loose their laughs.

"This was a very poor choice on Garrett's part," Emmett went on, causing me to shoot a hard look in his direction. "Seeing that Kate can shock people, she gives new meaning to S&M." At that, no one could keep their laughs in, though I imagined that Bella was covering Nessie's ears. "So I don't envy him at freaking all. But as long as I'm not the one who's being castrated tonight, I think I'll be alright. Oh, now I get why Garrett chose to wait this long!" We had to take a pause here, since most of the people gathered weren't breathing due to their laughter. It would have been impossible to hear Emmett if he'd gone on, and he had to have all his jokes heard. No doubt he'd been preparing them for a while.

Once the laughter had mostly subsided, Emmett, grinning widely, went on. "Anyways, Garrett's still here, so that obviously means he still wants to be condemned. Well, alright, if that's how you feel," Emmett suddenly switched over to his "serious" tone of voice again, or perhaps an overdramatic tone would have been more accurate. He sounded like he was attempting to purposely badly imitate Shakespeare. "Garrett, dost thou taketh Kate to be thy lawful wedded wife, in peace and in times wherein the Volturi wanteth to kill thee, in the good times and the times wherein she shall want to rip thee limb from limb, for as long as thee both shall live… which for you Garrett, will be about two seconds after this, you know that right?"

Garrett bit the inside of his cheek, obviously trying hard not to laugh. "Well, when you put it that way…" he teased, making me roll my eyes. "Nope, I still do," he said, grinning down at me. Emmett leaned over and said, in a very audible whisper, "You're a dead man," and then he turned to me.

"Kate, dost thou taketh Garrett to be thy lawful wedded husband, in peace and in times wherein the Volturi wanteth to kill thee, in the good times and the times wherein he is attempting to prove his manhood that thou already stole which will just piss you off, as long as thee both shall live, which is going to be an extremely short time span?" I let myself have just one light laugh at Emmett.

"Yeah, I guess I do," I said, grinning back up at Garrett. Emmett went on.

"Well, now Alice gets to prepare a funeral," he said. "You hear that Alice? Start planning now, because you're not going to have much time to put one together," he called. "But, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce thee man and wife. Thou may now…" Emmett dropped the sentence off, causing both me and Garrett to stare at him, easily conveying annoyed looks with our eyes. But Emmett was fueled off of irritating us, and his smile just got wider.

"And you may now," but he cut off again, pretending to yawn and then cough loudly and violently. I started tapping my foot out of impatience.

"Emmett if you don't get this done soon, you're going to be the one losing your manhood," I threatened lightly, releasing Garrett's hand just enough to wiggle my fingers slightly at him. Emmett rolled his eyes at me, but finally finished his sentence.

"Fine. You may now kiss the bride," he told Garrett, who muttered "Finally," and leaned down even as I was stretching on the tips of my toes, pressing his lips to mine for a good while. Claps and cheers came, the loudest being from Tanya. Suddenly, Garrett lifted me off my feet, ironically bridal style. I slung one arm around his neck, though I wasn't worried about him accidentally dropping me. It was more out a desire to be as close to him as possible… until later tonight. After the formalities, after the celebration, Garrett would be taking me somewhere, and it was there where I would truly discover the meaning of bliss.

Before Garrett could lead me outside, where we would dance and dance and dance, Alice took his elbow and steered him over to a mirror she had strategically placed. There, I saw myself completely done up for the first time. Garrett set me down so I could see myself fully.

I had to hand it to Tanya and Alice, they did a magnificent job with me. They were correct when they said my hair would look outstanding when curled; I had originally wanted to keep it straight. I had barely done anything fancy with it in my thousand years, even for the Cullen's weddings. But Tanya and Alice had been unrelenting, and I'd known them well enough not to argue. The dress was beautiful, as always, and the blue in the veil Alice had acquired for me brought forth the ring I loved so much into full light. But Garrett was even more striking. Seeing him like this was like seeing him for the first time. He was exquisite, glorious, wondrous, and I could barely believe that he was all mine. Mine, to keep forever, and I didn't ever intend on letting him go.

"Seen enough?" Garrett asked, leaning down to whisper the words in my ear. I looked back up at him.

"Of me, yes. Not of you. I don't think I'll ever get enough of that, but thankfully I don't need a mirror for that," I responded playfully, letting him pick me up once again, and this time we went uninterrupted to the backyard pavilion that Alice had set up. There were only a handful of chairs, seeing as my only guests never got tired, and none of them would eat. Instead, this celebration was devoted to dancing. Dancing was one of my guilty pleasures. Garrett had discovered that one day, when he had returned from hunting to find me in my room, listening to country ballads, and we'd slow danced alone in my room for hours. Tanya had heard me gush about that the next day, and she'd relayed the information to Alice. It was evident from the way she'd set up speakers from her enormous music player all around the pavilion. She had just one CD that she was sticking into the player, but she told me she'd burned all the music she'd need onto that one CD.

Garrett and I took our place in the center as the others gathered around us. Alice, with her signature huge smile planted on her face, was standing next to the stereo player, having finished checking all other details. She made a big act of pressing the play button, and I almost laughed when I heard the first beats of the song she and Tanya had picked. After all this time, it still fit Garrett and I almost spot on.

_Heart beats fast/colors and promises/how to be brave/how can I love when I'm afraid to fall/watching you stand alone/all of my doubt/suddenly goes away somehow/one step closer…_

"Sing for me, Katie," Garrett whispered in my ear as he spun us in a circle. I just shook my head, smiling up at him and mouthing the words instead.

_I have died every day waiting for you/darling don't be afraid/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more/time stands still/beauty in all she is/I will be brave/I will not let anything take away/what's standing in front of me/every breath/every hour has come to this/one step closer/I have died every day waiting for you/darling don't be afraid/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more/and all along I believed I would find you/time had brought your heart to me/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more/one step closer/one step closer..._

"Katie…" Garrett whispered again, and one look into his now amber eyes had me melting. Before I knew it, my throat opened, issuing the sounds of my voice, usually alto toned, now a soft soprano, ringing through the air.

"_I have died every day waiting for you/darling don't be afraid/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more/and all along I believed I would find you/time has brought your heart to me/I have loved you for a thousand years/I'll love you for a thousand more."_

As the song ended, Garrett leaned down to kiss me again, to general approval from the masses. "I have to agree with Tanya, you should sing more often," he said as the next song, Enchanted by Taylor Swift, began playing, and others started trickling onto the dance floor.

"Really? The one thing you have to agree with Tanya on, and its singing?" I asked, though not overly surprised. It was just my like for them to agree on my singing. "I told you, I don't sing," I said, though that was moot point now. I had obviously just proved that last sentence utterly false.

"Of course," Garrett agreed, seeing exactly what I found humorous about the situation. "Although if you'll excuse me, I have something I have to take care of…." I stared in curiosity as he gently let go of my hands, but then that curiosity was replaced by sheer happiness as I saw Garrett go over to Tanya, who, alone out of all the vampires here, was without a mate. Even Nessie was dancing with Jacob in the corner, wide smiles on both their faces. But Garrett grabbed Tanya's hand and led her out. Tanya rolled her eyes at him, much like I would have, but conceded for one dance. After that she pushed him back over to me.

"You need to dance together for this next song," she said, a devilish gleam on her eyes. I raised my eyebrows at her momentarily, but she sped off to stand near Carmen, Rosalie, and Alice. Realizing that this couldn't mean anything good, I was about to leave the dance floor entirely, or perhaps grab Carlisle or Eleazar, when the music came on, and I knew exactly what Tanya's plan was.

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy. Only Tanya (and Alice) would subject me to this in front of everyone. Emmett especially would be making jokes later, and I was immensely glad for my honeymoon at the moment, wherever Garrett was taking me. As long as I could get away from Emmett.

As the chorus came on, Tanya called out the words I already knew she'd say. "Do your dance move Kate!" She was grinning in a way that told me she had had entirely too much fun planning this out. No wonder there had been so many giggles during the many times she and Alice had sat over the papers I was never allowed to see, sharing ideas, or more accurately, some tortures, back and forth. Tanya would never rest until she'd gotten her share of humiliating me just a little at my wedding. Just Emmett doing it wouldn't do for Tanya. She always had to have a part in it.

Garrett, predictably, was curious as to what Tanya was referring to, and I really didn't have much of a choice but to demonstrate. Turning so that I wasn't facing Garrett but still touching him, I slowly starting gyrating my hips against his, easily setting the stage for the "riding" part of the song. Obviously, Garrett enjoyed this the second I started doing it, and he placed his hands on my hips, guiding me further, causing Emmett and Jasper to wolf-whistle in unison. Emmett took it one step further, yelling out "You can do that later!" I just raised my eyebrows at Tanya for a moment, and she got the message. While she rolled her eyes back at me, she started explaining to Emmett that she wouldn't have rested until she got me to perform exactly what I was currently doing to Garrett sometime before the celebration was over. Better now than later. As the song progressed, I started adding in bended knees as well, going lower or higher whenever I pleased. I'd have to remember to thank Tanya later… Garrett wasn't the only one enjoying himself.

After the song ended, I knew I had to stop. There would be plenty of time for that later… Garrett and I had an eternity to spend together. But still, this marked the beginning of our eternity. I could afford to get just a little bit naughty if I wanted. And after four months of agonizing wait, I desperately wanted to. As much as it would come back to haunt me later, in the form of endless jokes from Emmett, Tanya knew that I secretly needed a small bit of release, as well as accomplishing her own goal of just a little humiliation. Tanya truly was amazing. Alice took Garrett and I away for a couple of songs for pictures, with pretty much everyone there, but that was alright. We had so long to be with each other.

In an ode to both Tanya's and Alice's ability to be amazing, this day was easily one of the best days in all my years. It would have made the top spot without a hitch if Irina were here, and still might anyway; I wasn't sure yet. The day had yet to play itself out in its entirety. But Garrett proved once again that he was perfection. Near the end of the ceremony, he had a quick talk with Alice, who dashed into the house quickly and returned with a small object, which I later learned to be a CD, which she switched out when the current song (Wildfire by Sara Evans) ended. Who You'd Be Today by Kenny Chesney came on, and I knew immediately that it was meant as a tribute to Irina. All dancing stopped as we all lowered our heads, remembering our fallen sister. It was beautiful. Garrett had his arms around me the entire time, and when the song was over, I twisted my head to kiss him. "Thank you," I whispered against his lips. Garrett just nodded. Words weren't enough to truly show how much the gesture meant to me.

Finally, the night was almost done. Tanya informed me that the next song would be the last, so she dragged Garrett from where he was dancing with Carmen away and demanded that we dance the last one together. Everyone went to the edges of the floor once again, just like the first.

She's Amazing by Love and Theft started, one of my personal favorite songs of all time. I played it in my room so many times that Garrett had all the words memorized within the first week of being in Denali (after my two weeks of mourning with Tanya). As he spun around and around, I leaned close to his ear. "Sing for me," I breathed. Garrett immediately let loose a light chuckle, but I wasn't giving up. "I sung for you. It's only polite to the return the favor," I said, purposely making my voice become just a hint richer, just slightly more sultry. Garrett hesitated a moment more, but I knew I had won. Very quietly, he sung along with the words to the last time the chorus played out, probably so only I could hear. But he made a slight adjustment, changing each time Love and Theft said "she" to "you".

"_You're the light at dawn/you're the cloud I'm on/you're amazing/Mona Lisa's smile/you're so innocent and wild/you're amazing/you're amazing/you're amazing/you're amazing."_

As the song drew to a close, Garrett and I kissed one last time, long and slow. Our guests cheered again, politely for once, even Emmett. As we broke apart, Tanya, almost immediately followed by Alice, were quick to converge on me, throwing their arms around me, followed by the rest of those gathered. I thanked Benjamin and Tia warmly for coming as they were about to take their leave, kissed Jonathan's head gently in goodbye, and made it clearly known to Alice, Tanya, Carmen, Esme, and Rosalie that they were miracle workers for putting this together for me. Alice just nodded in almost exasperation, like she knew how amazing she was and thought I was wasting my words, but she and Tanya quickly led me into the house, where Alice informed me that she had taken plenty of pictures which she would have ready in a book waiting for me when I returned, and ran upstairs to grab the suitcases she and Tanya had packed. She thrust some of them into Emmett's arms and the other's into Jasper's. Each of them went out to the front, where Bella was graciously letting us borrow "her" Ferrari for the trip to the airport (Bella said she hadn't driven it once since getting it, preferring to use Edward's Volvo).

Garrett came in through the backdoor with the rest of the people, and final goodbyes were said. I hugged all the Cullen's, Benjamin, Tia, Carmen, and Eleazar, but my last hug was saved for Tanya.

"You're the best sister anyone could ever have," I whispered genuinely in her ear. "Thank you so much for accepting him, for pushing me to recognize him as the best thing that's ever happened to me. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me…"

"Kate, I just wanted to see you happy," she whispered back. "And don't worry, you know I honestly like him. But even more than that, Kate, he makes you happy. I've never seen you happier. And he's saved your life. I think you know that, deep down. We could all see how you were slowly deteriorating. You needed someone to look after you, and he came at exactly the right time." She left go and gave me a little push. "Now go have fun, and bring me back a niece or nephew!" I smiled and rolled my eyes at her, and then for the third time that day, Garrett swept me up into his arms again and carried me through the house and out the front door, as Emmett dumped rice on us. Garrett set me down in the passenger seat, and was in next to me in the blink of an eye. We waved out of the window to our family, and the last image I saw was of Rose and Emmett with Jonathan, Edward, Bella, and Nessie, the rest of the Cullen's with their respective mates, Carmen and Eleazar with their arms around each other, and one hand each on Tanya's shoulders. It filled me with happiness to know that my sister wasn't alone. The whole scene was moving, and above all, filled with love. Love that I could now say that I shared. I turned towards Garrett.

"Now are you going to tell me where you're taking me?" I asked, laughing. He just smiled back at me and shook his head as the sun lowered further in its descent, clearly making it twilight.

"You're going to have to wait just a little bit longer," he said in a teasing voice. "But don't worry, I think you might just love it."

"Maybe," I said, still smiling, and leaned in to kiss him as we quickly made our way to the Seattle airport, to the first step in our lives, finally officially wed.

* * *

**A/N: Links to Kate's wedding dress and ring are at the bottom of my profile page if anyone wants to check them out. I personally think they're beautiful.**


	13. Chapter 13

Garrett drove to the airport quickly, as out plane was scheduled to leave at eleven later that evening, and that give us plenty of time to change back into our normal clothing and get seated. The plane said we'd be landing in Mexico City, but Garrett assured me that wasn't our intended destination. We were seated with plenty of time to spare, and no short of things to amuse ourselves. Emmett had so graciously given Garrett a number of pictures from Edward and Bella's wedding, most of which had me in them somewhere, and there was one where you could only really see my head and a small bit of the upper portion of my body. My head was thrown back, mouth slightly open, and the way my hair fell, it didn't look like I was wearing any clothing. Garrett couldn't stop staring at it or asking me exactly what I was doing.

I rolled my eyes at him yet again. "I told you, we were just waiting in line to sit down!" I said in an exasperated tone. "It was just a picture taken at the wrong angle."

"And it's one of those pictures that's going to get me shot if anyone saw it and I told them you were my wife," Garrett responded, laughing. I rolled my eyes in response and Garrett just shook his head. "You look even more beautiful than you normally do here, and believe me, that's saying something." I just shook my head at him, but couldn't help but smile just a little bit.

"And this kid here!" Garrett said, pointing to a different picture, one of the few that didn't contain me. It was one of Bella's friends from her human life, whose name I was almost positive was Mike. "Emmett and Edward told me that he was having highly disturbing thoughts about not only Bella, but also about you and your sisters. According to them, they told me he spent the majority of the ceremony debating on which one of you he'd like to try first."

"You're so making that up," I said, laughing. I remembered looks from the humans at the wedding, but I was entirely used to it. Men stared at Tanya, Carmen, and I, and women stared at Eleazar and Garrett. It wasn't my favorite thing about being a vampire, especially since I started burning with irrational jealousy every time I caught someone staring at Garrett and didn't need to be Edward to know that I wouldn't approve of their thoughts, but we had to live with it.

"No I'm not," Garrett said. "I wasn't initially going to believe everything Emmett told me last night, but Edward confirmed that one. He also told me which one he decided on… care to know?"

"Tanya," I said, a bit superior. Garrett rolled his eyes at me.

"I wouldn't have minded so much if it was Tanya," he told me. "Wait, I take that back. Yes I would have. You're lucky you just had to deal with Eleazar and the Cullen's being protective of you. Tanya's too much of a sister to me for me not to make sure anyone she brings home actually deserves her."

"Oh, poor Tanya," I said with fake sympathy. She wouldn't care if Garrett approved or not, she'd take whomever she liked. "After so long without a mate, one would think that when she actually found him, no one would complain so much and just be happy for her. What she deserves is a break, you can't deny that."

"Ah, Katie, I thought you'd be on my side with this!" Garrett said, pretending to clutch his heart in shock. "Most people would think you'd be the most protective of Tanya."

"Oh, if any guy hurt her, I'd shock his ass to death," I assured. "But I'd give him a chance before anyone else. I just want her to be happy. She deserves it, after all this time. I mean, it's staring her in the face that she's the only one now who's alone. I know she says she doesn't care, but I'm a little worried about her. She says that I was deteriorating before you found me, and I really want to make sure that doesn't happen to her."

"Carmen and Eleazar will watch over her while we're gone," Garrett reassured me. "They won't let anything happen to her. And once we get back, we can watch over her as well. She didn't let you lose yourself, and we'll make sure she doesn't either. But Tanya's strong, you know. It'll take a very, very long time alone for her to lose who she is."

"Oh, trust me, I know how strong Tanya is," I said with conviction. "And let's not forget overly stubborn. She won't let herself change anytime soon, but I can't help but worry a little. When you live forever, you know that change will come eventually."

"Yes, but not in the next millennium," Garrett said. "You know that Katie. Do me a favor and enjoy yourself for the next month. Please." And as I looked up into his amber eyes, I knew that I'd have to. Even if I didn't agree, he'd distract me so much that even my advanced vampiric mind wouldn't have the space to worry about Tanya. And honestly, I knew Tanya could take care of herself. She might crave for a mate, but she definitely didn't need one to live on. She'd be perfectly fine without one. I was just being paranoid.

After the plane took off and we got the OK to turn on electronic devices once again, I switched my phone on and was greeted by a text message from Alice. I prepared myself for the worst, such as forgetting something and having to go back and get it, or Alice would threaten to come find us herself, but instead I was rewarded with a picture message. Alice had written, _You'll see the rest of them when you come back, but I thought you might like to have this one with you. Have fun!_

I opened the picture attachment to find one of Garrett and I kissing at the wedding, right after our vows were said. Even though our faces were hidden, you could tell that we were both smiling against each other lips. I showed the picture to Garrett, and he laughed.

"That would be picture Alice would send to us," he said, and I nodded in agreement. I quickly saved the picture to my phone, and placed it back in my pocket just as a flight attendant came up. She was the stereotypical flight attendant in the sense that she was wearing entirely too much makeup, had her light brown hair in a tight bun in the middle of her head, and was being entirely overly friendly and flirtatious. She was also an example of a woman who stared at Garrett in ways that I didn't like at all. Since I was sitting the aisle seat, and Garrett next to me, she leaned down to make it clear that she was only talking to Garrett. I also noticed a second attendant, glaring over at ours, whose nametag read _Alexandra_. The second attendant clearly lost whatever bet she and Alexandra had made as to which one could come over here.

"If there's _anything_ I can get you to make your flight more comfortable, please don't hesitate to ask," Alexandra bubbled.

"Thanks," Garrett said, barely throwing a smile in her direction, but she persisted.

"How come you're going to Mexico City, if I might ask?" she inquired, trying way too hard to sound interested. This time, Garrett really did look up at her, smiling.

"My wife and I are just making a stop there on our way to our honeymoon," he said brightly, slinging an arm around me shoulders. It probably wasn't very mature of me, but I smiled smugly up at her. _Yes, he's mine,_ I thought. _Back off._

"Oh," Alexandra said, straightening back up, looking disgruntled. She sped off without another word, telling her jealous friend in the corner that the man they'd both thought was attractive was taken.

After glaring at them for another moment, I turned away, facing Garrett. "You don't know how badly I want to shock all those people who try and flirt with you. You think the fact that we're normally glued at the hip combined with my glare would send a very clear message to back off, but some of them just don't get it."

Garrett chuckled lightly. "If I'm not allowed to attack the British men, you can put up with the overly flirtatious ones," he teased lightly, and I smiled. I knew we were both thinking of the same incident that happened a month ago when Garrett and I had been out alone in Anchorage. Some British man had come over and starting flirting with me, completely ignoring Garrett. Thankfully, he'd quickly asked where I was heading, and I had replied that I was on a date, which had allowed Garrett and I to leave him behind. Tanya, of course, had found that story hilarious when we'd relayed it to her when we had returned to Denali.

The flight lasted a good three hours, so it was very early in the morning when we arrived in Mexico City, the sun not yet up to cast sparkles over mine and Garrett's skin, for which I was grateful for. Garrett wouldn't let me see where the next plane was headed, but I hoped we'd reach there before the sun came up. If we didn't, we'd have to move overly carefully to avoid its rays. But I wasn't all too worried about the sun. I was more anxious to reach Garrett's intended destination. I inferred that it would be somewhere in South America, or perhaps even western Africa. Wherever it was, it seemed like I'd be getting a wonderful filling of the sun, provided we'd be in a position to venture outside during the daylight hours. I figured we would be. Both Garrett and I would get awfully bored if we were cooped up inside the entire time. If we couldn't go outside, it would make sense to think that we wouldn't be able to have the kind of sex that Rose and Emmett were famed for.

The second ride was much shorter, and to my relief, there weren't any flirty flight attendants to put my self-control to the test. While during the last flight, when our conversation had been ruled by more mundane things, such as if Garrett was disappointed that he had been thwarted by Alice in his attempts to see me in the dress before the wedding (which he grudgingly replied with a no, he said it was more surreal seeing me walking down the aisle), we focused this time on more serious topics. Having children was the primary focus.

"Carmen and Eleazar are going to be so happy when their baby comes," I sighed, voice still tinged with a hint of jealousy, as I was positive it would be until I had one of my own. "I hope they get a girl. I know that would be Carmen's preference."

"Benjamin mentioned that he and Tia were looking into the idea of having a child as well," Garrett responded. "He was slightly worried about Amun's reaction, but we convinced him that he didn't have to tell Amun until after she was pregnant. Then he can't really do anything about it. And Benjamin could always threaten to leave him. That always keeps Amun in check."

"That could still take several years," I said, a hint of wistfulness coloring my tone. I secretly hoped that I would be as fast as Esme was in getting pregnant. These babies had a domino effect. Once everyone saw how happy being pregnant made Rosalie, all the females who knew her and were mated instantly wanted one of their own, and I'd wager some who weren't mated wanted them as well. It was that air of happiness, of sheer contentment. Who wouldn't want to experience that for themselves?

"Do you want kids Katie?" Garrett asked me in a soft voice. Of everything we'd discussed over our time together, this question had never come up. It was a taboo, not to be mentioned. I didn't quite know the reason for it, especially since learning of Carmen's pregnancy and experiencing Rosalie's birthing process. We'd known that we were going to stay with each other, so there only the scarcest traces of worry that we would end badly.

"Of course I do," I whispered. "I have for a long time. I tried ignoring it of course, but each of the times Esme was pregnant, and being with Rose during the past few months, I burned with jealousy. I wanted it badly, Garrett. I think almost all women do, crave that intense happiness, unless they just happen not to like children much. It didn't used to be as bad as Rosalie's intense desire, but over the past month's it's slowly grown to approximately that height. But do you want them? I don't want to make you raise them if you don't want them."

"But I do want them Katie," Garrett said, smiling down at me. "I hadn't given a second thought to it until I first saw Nessie, but she and Edward really opened my eyes to the joy being a parent can bring. And you're not going to believe me but…" His voice trailed off, filling me with curiosity.

"But what?" I prompted, putting one hand over his from where it sat on the armrest between us.

"But I was actually looking around the room, and when I saw you and Tanya walking over, when I saw _you_ for the first time, I thought to myself, I wouldn't mind making babies with her! She'd produce some good looking kids," he said, grinning almost sheepishly, but only sent me into a light laugh. "Told you that you wouldn't believe me," Garrett said, though smiling more strongly.

"No, it's not that," I assured. "It's just that I thought along almost those exact lines over the course of staying with the Cullen's. I immediately reprimanded myself for it at the time of course, but I endured a hell of a lot of teasing from Tanya that entire day. She happened to be with me at the time, and you know how well she can read my mind."

"And that is one the most amusing things I've ever seen," Garrett said, laughing at the many memories of Tanya and I responding to each other's thoughts. Emmett and Garrett both always speculated on whether or not Tanya and I each had Edward's power, though it only worked on each other, but Tanya and I both knew that wasn't it. We'd just been together for so long, been sisters for so long, that we could just read each other's minds from our facial expressions. It had become second nature to us over the years. I just smiled what Tanya had dubbed as my "succubus smile" at Garrett, my usual response to his jokes about Tanya and I.

We landed in the airport to what turned out to be Lima, Peru, still too early for the sun to rise, only four in the morning. We didn't even have to linger for an especially long time in the airport to wait on our bags. The amount of luggage Alice had packed for me doubled what Garrett had, but we managed to carry it all. We headed out into the early morning air, the horizon just turning to gray. The sun would be up before long, where we couldn't be seen.

"Don't worry, it's not much farther," Garrett said as if reading my thoughts, eyes also trained on the horizon. "We're going to have to walk though. It's a good thing the airport is on the outskirts of the city, and there's not much around for quite a few more miles."

Curiosity spiking, we walked even farther to the edge of the city, and Garrett was correct in the sense that it didn't take long at all. Our especially chalky complexions stood out against the darker tones of the natives, but we weren't observed too closely. That allowed us to walk a bit faster than most humans who were burdened with as many bags as ours.

Just as the sun was making its peak over the edge of the horizon, Garrett and I made our way from the very edges of civilization into the jungle. I imagined this was the kind of place that Zafrina, Senna, and Kachiri lived, as well as Huilen and Nahuel. The sun shone through the canopy of trees, sending sparkles over our skin. I realized that I'd never actually seen Garrett in the sun before. It was an odd sight to me. I was used to seeing my sisters, Carmen, and even Eleazar in the sun, but seeing someone bathed in sunlight for the first time was always a novelty to me. It shouldn't be, after all this time, since I could probably guess what the image would be if I wanted to; but nevertheless, I was slightly stunned. Garrett caught me staring at him. "What?" he asked, in mock defensiveness.

I shrugged, attempting nonchalance. "Nothing, princess," I teased lightly. Tanya had teased Eleazar, Carlisle, Emmett, Edward, and Jasper for years about how sparkling made them less masculine, and occasionally Irina and I would chime in. Garrett reacted in exactly the same way as the others did: he just rolled his eyes at me, a hint of a smile threatening to break through.

"I'll race you," he said suddenly, breaking into a run. Smiling widely, I took off after him, the feeling of freedom coursing through my veins as I sped through the forest, my loose hair, still slightly curled, flying back behind me. It would be even better if I didn't have the luggage with me. They weren't a physical burden on me, but I couldn't pump my arms like I loved to do. I made a mental note to go for a run sometime soon. Not necessarily even hunting, but just running for the feeling of it.

Garrett was still slightly ahead of me when he came to an abrupt halt. I stopped a hair's breadth from him. I looked around his shoulder to see a small cottage, nestled into the woods, like it could have been there for hundreds of years. It didn't have that well lived in feel that Bella's and Edward's did, but there was a homely element to it. I recognized it immediately as Esme's touch; how many houses had I seen her renovate over the years? This place had known the touch of Esme Cullen.

"Don't tell me Esme came down here to put this together and I didn't notice?" I asked Garrett before he could get the chance of speak.

"No, but she told me that I could use it," he said, laughing lightly. "You remember when Carmen convinced you to go hunting with Nessie in the first couple days when we arrived at the Cullen's?" I nodded, the memory clear in my mind. Carmen was stubbornly insisting that I should go with her and Nessie hunting, though I didn't see why it was so important. Nessie had convinced me by saying with her thoughts that she wanted me to go. She wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Carmen's job that day was to get you out of the house. I had an idea of where I was going to take you, but I needed a bit of help with the details, such as where we were going to stay. Esme recommended this place. Apparently, it's one of her and Carlisle's favorite anniversary destinations, and Alice and Jasper have used it as well. She offered her island to us, but since Edward and Bella went there, I didn't want to seem too unoriginal."

"It's perfect," I assured him, kissing him quickly. We went inside, eager to put the luggage down, among other activities that I was eager to get started with. To my surprise, there were a few modern elements, such as a television and a stereo.

"Alice had some things installed the last time she was here," Garrett explained, guessing what thoughts were running through my mind. "She said she was there long enough to do some… other activities."

I turned to look at him. "Not sure if we're going to have time for movies," I said in a low voice. Garrett eyes flashed and he was wearing that oh so familiar mischievous grin. We ventured upstairs, which was bare except for an extravagant, elaborate bed. It was enormous, for one thing, and had an intricately carved headboard. The sheets were heavy, and colored white and light blue, as was Esme's preferred color scheme. The walls were bare, and I could count every board used to make the small cottage.

I dropped the bags in the closet Alice had clearly added. It was huge, and already filled with some of her clothes. My phone buzzed in my pocket the second I walked in. I flipped it open absentmindedly, already knowing that the message from Alice. I'd grown almost used to her unusual precognition in all the time I'd known her. Sure enough, her name glared from the bright screen, telling me _Sorry about all of the clothes, but I decided to leave some things for the next time I went. Don't be afraid to look into your case. You'll learn to love everything._

I shook my head at the message. My fears were confirmed about what Alice had packed. Bella had been right to warn me, or I was almost sure I would have gone ballistic after I had found out what Alice had given me. I wondered if there was anything socially acceptable at all that she'd given me. But knowing Alice, her definition of socially acceptable vastly differed from mine, and if Tanya was in on the packing, she would have only made it worse.

I turned to Garrett, who was standing behind me. Making up my mind quickly, I decided to get the torture over with. "Out," I said, pointing at the stairs. "I have to go through these and get rid of half of it. Alice apparently went a little… overboard." I grimaced the entire time, which just made Garrett laugh, but thankfully followed my request and left the room. Filled with apprehension, I opened the cases.

"Alice and Tanya", I said under my breath, forming the two names like expletives. I could easily see my sister's hand in the black and dark purple lace. She knew that I loved dark purple, and obviously didn't have to twist Alice's arm very much to allow all of the articles of that color. The French tags, which I didn't bother to read, still hung from the strips of lace. One entire suitcase was filled with the stuff, and half of the second. The second half of the second and the third contained much more appropriate things, but still more provocative than I usually wore.

My only consolation was at the bottom of the third case. There was a small pocket of clothes that I would wear on a daily basis, with a little note written in Carmen's hand.

_Esme and I put this in at the last minute, so Alice wouldn't see it. No doubt she'll already have chewed us out by the time you read this. But we hope it's a small contribution we can make after the amazing years we've had together. We love you, both of you. Congratulations._

_-Carmen_

Carmen's note warmed me, not just because she thought to put these in for me. Rather, I had connected with the words. I wanted to thank my family for all the amazing years they'd given me as well. But not yet. I could do that when I got back. The time right now was for Garrett.

Ignoring most of Alice's and Tanya's scandalous things, I settled on a simple black tank top and sweat pants. They'd be destroyed soon enough anyway. Come to think of it, most of these things would be in tatters by the end of our time here. _Maybe that's why Tanya and Alice chose all the lace, _I thought to myself sarcastically. _They were just making it easier for Garrett. How considerate._

I closed the cases, pushing them to the back of the closet. Now, it was time for what I'd been craving, needing, ever since going back to Denali. I crept downstairs as silently as I could. Garrett was waiting for me, and I jumped into his waiting arms, throwing my legs around his torso. Our lips met eagerly, in a sort of frenzy. I had to fuel the fire that was slowly building inside me. For once, that fire wasn't caused by my gift, or out of anger. This was different, hotter, more passionate. The fires of love, of need.

My hands went from Garrett's hair to his back. I toyed with the fabric of his shirt for a moment before ripping it off entirely, throwing it somewhere. Garrett started moving us up the stairs, and we crashed on the bed, him on top of me. His lips moved from my mouth to travel down my neck, causing me to let out a light moan, and work hard to control the light flow of electricity that I wanted so badly to release. But I vowed not to give into the temptation. There was no way in hell I was going to ruin this now.

And with my convictions keeping my in check, my world exploded in fire and passion and love. Always, always love.


	14. Chapter 14

Later, when it was finally all over for now, Garrett and I laid there in the hot sun, which embedded diamonds into our skin. I was lying belly-down on Garrett's chest, head tucked underneath his chin, eyes closed. His long fingers slowly stroked small circles on my bare back.

I lifted my head to look into his amber eyes, and he was staring back with a bit of a superior expression. I rolled my eyes at him as he kissed me on the tip of my nose. I looked over the top of his head, taking in the damage we'd caused.

The most obvious was, of course, the large hole we'd made in the side of the house on the second floor. But, thankfully for Esme, most of our lovemaking had taken place outdoors. You could see where we'd gone by following the line of the cracked and broken trees.

"And I always thought Emmett had been exaggerating about him and Rose before," I muttered under my breath. Garrett gave a light chuckle, he too looking around at what we'd wrought.

"We'll have to build over that hole for Esme," he said. "Thankfully we now have all this spare wood," he joked, making me laugh along with another roll of the eyes. I pushed my hands into his shoulders as I began to make my way to my feet. As I stretched, Garrett sprung up from his place on the ground. "Well that was fun," he said, attempting nonchalance. I just shook my head at him, recognizing the joking undertone to his words. We slowly walked back into the house, and I went upstairs to don some of the clothes Carmen and Esme had left for me. Tanya's and Alice's would be last resort. Of course, looking at what had just occurred, almost nothing would be left of all the three cases. I'd need to leave at least something decent for when we went back, or the couple times when I was sure we'd at least be in the vicinity of humans. Late nights out in town… yes, that was a wonderful prospect.

Sighing, I turned my attention back to the bags. Gritting my teeth, I skipped over the lingerie, but instead went to Alice's and Tanya's 'casual wear', choosing a light blue blouse with a very deep U-cut, and jeans that hugged every part of my lower body. The only praise I could give them was that I could still move in them; they weren't so tight that they would cut off my blood circulation if I had one. It felt more like a second layer of skin.

I slowly made my way down the stairs again, where Garrett had already dressed. He took my hand and crushed me into my body, lips meeting mine after a few moments. I felt both of us getting steamed up again, rekindling the fire that we'd only just put out. It took all of my strength to pull away just slightly. I couldn't ignore the slight burn in the back of my throat. I needed to hunt.

"Come on," I breathed. "We have all the time in the world for that. We need to hunt. I've always wanted to try jungle cat." The sparkling in my eyes clearly issued a challenge, and Garrett was instantly engaged. Without a word, we sped out of the house, in total hunter's mode, searching for the thick scent of blood that flowed through the veins of the plenteous amount of animals here.

A couple minutes of searching, and a new smell attacked me. Most of the time, I would have been able to completely ignore it, but when I was in the middle of a hunt, as a predator, it was harder to resist. A human, not two miles away, had been hiking through the jungle and cut themselves. I quickly held my breath, determined to run the other way. I could have done it. But Garrett couldn't have.

He was still so knew to this lifestyle. We hadn't come across any humans so far during hunts. Garrett hadn't been around one who'd cut themselves open.

Maddened, he raced towards the scent, and I tore blindly after him, forcing myself to hold my breath. I couldn't be tempted, not even a little, by the blood. I had to stop Garrett. I'd promised him that I'd shock him, and I felt the familiar tingle radiating from my palms. Now all I needed to do was catch up to him. That posed a problem. Anyone other than Garrett, I would have caught them easily. But Garrett was the only one who ever had a prayer of outrunning me, and he'd had a head start in the seconds of my anguish over the scent of the blood.

If the distance had been greater, I might have been able to do it. I might have been able to catch Garrett in time. But it was too late. He grabbed the unsuspecting Peruvian man, plunging his teeth into the man's neck. By the time I reached him, pressing my palm against his neck to shock him, the man was already dead, almost entirely drained.

As I pressed my palm to Garrett, pouring out a high level of shock, he jerked back away from the body. He leapt to his feet again a moment later, then stared at what he'd done, and his expression turned, absolutely, utterly horrified. "Oh my God," he mouthed, seemingly unable to form words. He backed away a couple feet, and, sensing what he was about to do, I jumped the distance, landing on him just as he turned so that he couldn't run away.

"Hey, hey, you cannot beat yourself up over that," I said, pressing him into me. "We have all slipped up before, trust me. This isn't anything you need to feel ashamed over. Everyone has problems with it; even I had difficulty not chasing after him. The fact that you've gone this long with a small mistake is in itself a miracle. You better promise me that you're not going to dwell on this. Everyone has made the same mistake before, so it's unavoidable. Don't you dare go thinking less of yourself for that."

After I was done speaking, I could feel Garrett press me closer to him, needing me. Just like I had needed him when I was mourning Irina, he needed me now in his moment of weakness. And I'd be there for him, always. We were always there for each other, the only ones that could truly bring each other peace and give unconditional love and support. If we couldn't count on each other, we couldn't count on anyone.

I held him even as he held me, rubbing small patterns into his back, silently telling him that it would be alright, that I wouldn't condemn him, that we'd be fine. He needed to know that we'd all slipped up. Edward, for a while, even rejected Carlisle and Esme's style of living for a while and lived away from them, feeding on humans. I told Garrett this, as well as an incident two September's ago, when Jasper had come up to visit us in Denali, after he'd accidentally attempted to kill Bella after she'd cut herself at a birthday party Alice was throwing for her.

As I spoke, Garrett had his eyes closed, and slowly stood up, still intertwined in each other's arms. Finally, he let out a breath, his eyes opening. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Always," I said, kissing him. "I love you," I told him a firm voice, just to reaffirm to him that this wouldn't ruin things between us. Nothing could, not now. Not after everything we'd accomplished together, what we'd been able to overcome. This was just another obstacle that we'd jump over together. It would only make us stronger.

Garrett insisted on burying the body, which I didn't mind at all. The task was done quickly, and then we continued with our hunt. I knew that Garrett was being especially careful this time, and I too kept my senses even more alert than usual, not totally giving in to my inner predator like I did when I was hunting. I knew that Garrett and I were going to be extra careful the next few hunting trips. It was inevitable after this sort of thing happened. But I knew we'd be alright.

Even after, I was able to get Garrett back into his usual mood with competition. I knew he was still a bit reserved when we began, so I playfully engaged him in our usual competition, and before long, we were both going up against each other. When we'd both been chasing the same panther (which I found I loved the taste of) and we'd both bitten into different ends of its neck at the same time, that's when Garrett started to act like his old self again. I couldn't stop smiling at his return.

When we returned to the small cottage, the hole was glaring at us, an extremely obvious blot on the otherwise picturesque landscape. Garrett had been right earlier; we had more than enough wood from all the trees we'd damaged in our lovemaking which would make for an easy repair job. I gestured toward the hole with a single finger.

"Should we fix that first, or should we wait until we've gone to see all the damage we manage to wreck before we do any major repairs?" I asked Garrett, unable to stop the little smile that crept onto my lips when I remembered earlier this morning.

"By the time we leave, this place might not even be standing," Garrett remarked, laughing softly, making me roll my eyes at him. "But I think we should wait. There's obviously going to be breaking more parts of that cottage. When it's in utter disrepair, we can patch it back up and start again."

"Next time Esme comes here the place is going to look entirely different," I said, laughing.

"And why's that Katie?" Garrett asked, a devilish look in his eyes that was impossible to resist. Without saying I word, I responded my just smiling at him and twisting my hands in his shirt, pulling him to me. I dragged him up to the wonderfully soft bed in the cottage, and we'd picked off where we'd left this morning.

"I honestly don't believe that this place is exactly the same as when Esme found it," I muttered, looking up at the hold we'd created in the ceiling. Well, technically, the ceiling to the first level of the cottage, the floor of the second. Tatters of clothes were strewn everywhere around the cottage and even outside. "We've already made two huge holes and we haven't been here for a whole day yet." Garrett and I were both wearing sweatpants, but hadn't bothered putting anything else on after our most recent episode of lovemaking. I was flipping through the plethora of DVD's we had to choose from, but I didn't believe we'd make it through one entirely before we started up again. The experience was too perfect not to. Selecting a movie at random, I popped it in the DVD player, and Garrett and I began picking up all of the bits of clothing lying around. The task was finished quickly, and when we were done, Garret settled on the lone couch. I hopped up on Garrett's chest, my head tucked under his chin, one of my hands lazily tracing his stomach.

Before the movie (_Gladiator_) had even been running for a half an hour, Garrett's mouth was attacking mine again, and I was only too happy to fuel the fire. My legs were slowly making their way up his body, until they were straddling his hips. His hands were on my chest, and I moaning into his mouth. My fingers hovered the rim of his sweats when my phone suddenly rang, coming alive with Alice's ringtone.

My head snapped up, and I immediately glared at the phone, as if my glare could reach Alice from here. I was sorely tempted to ignore it, but the phone only seemed to become shrill and urgent as it went, and my common sense told me Alice wouldn't call unless it was something important. Grumbling under my breath, I crossed the room quickly to pick it up before my answering machine did.

"Hello?" I asked, doing my best not to give away what Garrett and I had just been doing. Though I probably didn't fool Alice, especially since Garrett had decided to stand behind and kiss up and down my neck.

"Kate, I know I have the worst timing in the world, but someone from the Volturi is coming," Alice said, her high soprano voice urgent. "Caius sent them out to try and track down Senna, Zafrina, and Kachiri without Aro's knowledge, and they're going to run into you instead. They're not official members of the guard, just a couple wannabes that Caius found and decided to use. He sent the same kind of person after Tanya the other day while she was hunting alone, but she was able to kill him without any sort of complications. I'm able to see all of Caius' decisions, and so far I haven't seen anything too worrisome, but you had to get advanced warning."

"Oh, God, thank you so much Alice," I said, running my hand through my mussed hair. "How long until they get here?" Alice was silent for a moment while she figured out the answer.

"20 minutes," she said. "It's just two people, since Caius was wary of Zafrina's power, hoping that one could get a lucky shot in. They were specifically trained to fight blind however, not against your shocks. They shouldn't be a problem. And there's a lighter in Garrett's case."

"Alright, thank you so much Alice," I said, and hung up. Garrett had obviously heard the conversation, and he was already completely dressed, and he threw me appropriate clothing as he slid the black lighter into his pocket. I was changed in a matter of seconds, and we were left with the task of gathering enough of the broken wood to use for a fire, placing it a small ways away from the cottage. We'd just finished what we deemed to be enough when I caught two unfamiliar, but clearly vampiric, scents. We turned toward their direction, Garrett adopting a subtle defensive position in front of me.

The two vampires gracefully laced through the dense network of trees with skill. Their eyes were burgundy, but not bright enough to indicate that they were newborns. They stopped short at the sight of us, clearly caught off guard. They stopped a ways away from us, discussing different options in low tones, slowly advancing.

"Leave them," the taller of the two said, once they were within hearing range. "We had specific orders from Caius. We are only to attack the Amazons."

"But they're obviously allied with Carlisle," the shorted one persisted. "Look at their yellow eyes. The blonde might even be one of the sisters. You heard the descriptions of each of the Cullen's and their allies, especially the blonde sisters Caius hates so much. You heard how Caius killed one at the confrontation, but the other two escaped him for the second time. We would be rewarded beyond measure if we are able to dispose of her."

"We had just better hope this isn't the one with the fire touch," the taller one muttered, but nevertheless, they kept advancing towards us. They were wearing light gray cloaks, and from their expressions, I could tell that they weren't going to bother with formalities. They wanted to get this over with quickly.

"Just to make certain, you are allied with Carlisle Cullen, are you not?" the taller one asked, trying to maintain that regal authority senior members of the Volturi like Felix and Demetri always displayed.

"No, not allied," I said lightly. "We're family. There's a much stronger bond that allies between us."

"She's not one of the sisters," the shorter one muttered, clearly disappointed.

"That just means that she is not the fire touch," the other one countered before turning back to us. "If you are part of Carlisle's family, then you should be aware that you have offended the Volturi. The Volturi do not lightly ignore these offenses. There must be repercussions for your inexcusable actions."

I let out a light bark of a laugh. "Of course, I didn't realize that arguing with the Volturi and being proved innocent was a crime in Caius's eyes nowadays. There's not much that you can do. I suggest you leave now while you still can."

"You underestimate our effectiveness?" the shorter one demanded, eyes flaring dangerously. "You shall learn to regret your impulsive actions before the end." And with that, the two vampires began to run towards us, initiating the fight.

The shorter one made a beeline towards me, but before he could grab ahold of me, I managed to brush his arm with my finger, but the shock he managed to receive was enough to jolt him. I had turned up my gift to full potential, maximum shock.

"She is one of the sisters!" the shorter one yelled. "She's the fire touch!" The taller one swore, but was forced to dodge one of Garrett's attacks. The shorter one came after me again, this time with a victorious look in his eyes, a wicked smile in his face. I returned the smile with my own succubus one. It was enough to make him falter in mid-step, but not to cease his attack entirely. But a misstep was all that I needed.

In the split second of indecision, I was on him as fast as I could possibly be. My arms connected around his head and I started tugging, slowly feeling his diamond skin disconnect, break under the pressure. The entire time I was still emitting my incapacitating shock, making sure there were no chances of him getting away from me. Usually I wasn't sadistic about my shock, but in a fight, I could never be too careful. I couldn't afford to take any chances that could be easily avoided.

Just as I could feel that his head would give way and topple off, my right arm was suddenly grabbed in a harsh pull, and then it wasn't there anymore. The taller one had somehow managed to pull it off before giving into the shock. True, he was now on his knees in pain, but there was still that little fact that my arm was missing. Garrett saw, and in an instant he was on the taller one, beheaded him almost neatly, if it hadn't been for the look of enraged fury set upon his features.

Though surprised, I finished beheaded the shorter one, ripping the last shreds of sinew with my one remaining arm. Garrett carefully picked up my severed arm and then lit our pre-prepared fire, tossing in the various parts of the two guards. When all parts of them were being engulfed by the ravenous orange flames, he walked over to me, holding out my arm gingerly. I took it from him with my left hand. Thank God I'd accidentally ripped off Tanya's hand all those years ago…

"Don't worry about this," I said, holding up my arm. "When I was still a newborn, I got angry at Tanya once and ripped off her hand. My… creator taught us how to reconnect severed body parts." With those words, I licked the edge of wound on my arm, where it would connect to my shoulder. The venom dripped out of my mouth, and I pressed my arm back to my shoulder, making sure it was in the right place before the venom set. Within a few minutes, the venom worked and my arm was fully reattached, though not without the price of a thin scar around my arm.

"Are you sure that's going to work correctly?" Garrett breathed. "Wait, don't answer that. It was a stupid question. But still… that's something else. Carlisle explained how it worked to me when I first met him, but seeing it firsthand is definitely a new experience."

"Yes, it's fine," I said absentmindedly. I was more concerned with running my familiar current over my skin, making sure the shock still worked out of my arm. To my pleasure, it seemed to be working just as well as before the arm was ripped off. I flexed it back and forth a few more times, testing it. My arm passed everything I put it through, and then I turned back to Garrett, who was watching me with an expression as though he was trying to decide whether or not to laugh.

"Let's go back so I can show you how fine my arm is," I said, wrapping both arms around his neck, entangling my hands in his hair. Garrett grinned down at me and grabbed both of my legs, putting them around his waist as he carried me back to the cottage, continuing our perfection.


	15. Chapter 15

"I'm going to miss this," I said, lounging across Garrett's chest. Our plane was scheduled to take flight in just a few hours. Dusk had just fallen in Peru. We'd stayed for an entire month.

"We'll get a place of our own in Alaska," Garrett replied. "We can be with Tanya and the others during the day, but at night, I'm keeping you all to myself. I'll be damned if I only get to spend a month of my existence with you like this."

"I can't decide if I find that romantic or just testosterone-filled," I teased as I slowly started dressing in one of my only remaining outfits, which I'd thankfully had the foresight to make sure it was one of the outfits Carmen and Esme had packed for me. To my own surprise, Tanya's and Alice's choices had made for some extremely entertaining nights. I'd have to thank them.

Quickly, we were packed and had double checked to make sure we had made all necessary repairs. The next time Esme would come here, she'd be met with an almost entirely new cottage. The fragile wood hadn't been able to withstand most of what Garrett and I put it through, but it was easily repairable.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Garrett and I had boarded the plane and were on our way to Dallas, and from there, to Seattle. We were supposed to stop off by the Cullen's for a couple days before heading back to Denali.

The plane ride was mostly uneventful, simply reliving everything that had gone on while in Peru. Contrary to what Emmett would believe, we hadn't just had sex. We'd also hunted in the Pacific Ocean, and now Great White Shark rivaled Canadian lynx for my favorite source of blood.

Garrett's eyes had also lightened again, despite the one mistake he'd made. They weren't entirely as gold as mine yet, but give it another month and I was sure they would be. They were instead a very light amber, and I glowed with pride every time I looked into them.

We landed in Seattle in the early hours of the morning. I strained my head, looking for my sister, but Garrett, being seven inches taller than me, spotted them first.

"Over there," he said, pointing. I whipped my head in the direction on his pointed finger and found my family, Alice at the head of the procession. She was easily leading the rest of them in our direction. I had to put myself in the uttermost control not to run full speed towards them, because we were in the presence of humans. Another visit by the Volturi, a justified one this time, wasn't in my plans.

Alice spent a few more moments walking over, and then gave a delighted squeal when we came into her actual eyesight. Tanya quickly moved to the front of the queue and I pushed my way through the crowd to reach them. Finally, I was able to hug Tanya. I hadn't realized until this moment how much I missed her.

"God, I missed you so much Kate!" she said. "I never realized how boring things get without you and Garrett around. Carmen and Eleazar just don't argue as well as you do."

"And we still don't understand why you need to argue with someone at least once a day," Carmen laughed, coming forward to give me a soft hug. Her stomach had started showing in the month we'd been absent. It was startling how altered her appearance seemed to me after hundreds of years of stagnation.

"I have got the greatest present for you when we get back to the house!" Alice trilled, taking her turn to give me a hug, as Tanya and Carmen moved on to Garrett. "And I told you you'd have need of what Tanya and I packed. Carmen and Esme's interference wasn't needed. I had it covered."

"Carmen's and Esme's interference is the only reason I have something socially acceptable to wear right now," I laughed. "Hate to say it Alice, but every single thing you and Tanya got for me was only worn once. After that… well let's just say that they got some good use out of that one wear."

"Hell yeah!" Emmett exclaimed. He was holding Jonathan in one arm, but punched the air with his free hand. "Finally, some people actually acting decent after they get married. You don't know how boring Edward and Bella are. I told Esme that she'd need to repair another cottage from them soon, but that thing's still standing. 'Course, you probably owe Esme another honeymoon spot don't you? Shame, she was quite fond of that old place. There's a reason why she never let me and Rose go over there."

"Nothing we did was unfixable, and we made all the repairs that were needed," I shot back, taking Jonathan from him. Esme mouthed a quick 'Thank you,' in my direction, and I nodded back at her. "Thank you so much for letting us borrow that little cottage Esme," I told her. "It was beautiful there."

"Good. And I'm glad that you and Garrett were actually responsible about fixing it up," she replied, shooting Emmett a hard look. He just looked at her with a confused expression, making Esme and Rosalie roll their eyes at him simultaneously.

I turned back to the baby in my arms. He stared up at me with wide blue eyes that were so like Emmett's. He was much bigger than I'd last see him, and just the cutest little thing I'd ever seen. "Hey buddy," I crooned to him in a voice much higher than my usual one. "You probably don't remember me, huh? You were just a couple days old the last time I saw you. And you look so much like your mother. That's a good thing. You want her looks, you'll grow up to be so handsome."

"He acts like Emmett though," Rosalie said, laughing. "He's such a handful, but we love him." She said words with so much love and affection it was impossible to doubt them. You could tell that the single most important thing in her life was Jonathan. "And you should see the way he gets along with Nessie. They just adore each other."

"Where is Nessie?" I asked, looking around. But she didn't suddenly appear from behind Edward or Bella, which confused me. They rarely let her out of their sight.

"She's going through another growth spurt, and she's been sleeping extensively," Edward answered me. "Seeing as it's still quite early in the morning, we elected to let her keep sleeping. She's at the house, and Jacob's watching over her. It's amazing, she'll be a year old in just a couple of months, but physically she looks to be around seven. Her growth has halted a bit from birth though, so Carlisle estimates that she'll only look around eight at her birthday."

A few more pleasantries were exchanged, but then Alice started ushering everyone to the cars, proclaiming that the sun was going to come up soon. Even in Washington, they saw a little bit of sun in the summer months. But thanks to Alice's impeccable timing, we were all safely shut away into the cars before the sun made its peak over the mountains.

We were in Tanya's Mercedes, like always, though for once, she was actually letting Eleazar drive. Instead, she was completely turned around from her seat in the passenger side (Carmen in her usual seat in the middle) and interrogated Garrett and I about everything that we'd done, trying to get down to the smallest little details. She got quite frustrated, however, seeing as the majority of our time had been spent making love. I was _not_ giving Tanya, or anyone for that matter, the details of my sex life.

"God, Tanya, why do you want to know so badly?" I asked as we neared Forks, growing exasperated.

"Because I do," she said, but I could tell that there was something she was hiding from me. I narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously.

"Do not tell me that you found a mate in the time I was gone?" I asked. I didn't think she'd ever found someone without telling me first thing, even if I was on my honeymoon, but I had to make sure.

"No!" Tanya exclaimed, and there was no lie behind her eyes. "It's something else. You'll find out Kate, just have a bit of patience."

"Tanya, you know her better than that," Garrett chimed in. "Katie doesn't have an ounce of patience in her body." He looked down to grin at me, and I rolled my eyes at him in response, though I couldn't resist kissing him quickly.

"Well, _Katie_ better learn some patience or she's going to find that her mouth had been forcibly removed. Ugh, now I know the Cullen's pain when Rosalie was changed and she and Emmett couldn't get their hands off each other," Tanya said in a joking voice. I narrowed my eyes at her use of Garrett's name for me. Only Garrett was allowed to call me Katie. To everyone else, I was Kate, and that was final.

"Don't call me Katie," I growled. "I will start calling you Tanie if you don't. And I'm 100% serious." Tanya rolled her eyes at me, but consented. There were a few things that bothered me that Tanya could get away with, but not that one. One of the best things about Tanya is she knew where she could push me to my boundaries and where she couldn't. She didn't unnecessarily aggravate me.

Eleazar neatly pulled into the Cullen's drive a few moments later, where Nessie and Jacob were waiting for us. Edward had been right, Nessie had grown a bit more, but it was almost unnoticeable compared to the month we'd spent with her when preparing to witness against the Volturi. She ran up to Garrett and I, pressing her hands to each of our cheeks, trying to show us the same thing. Apparently now, she could project out of both her palms at the same time.

I pulled back, though only out of shock. "You didn't tell us she expanded her gift!" I shot at Edward accusingly. He grinned back at us.

"I knew that she wanted to explain for herself. She's quite proud," he replied, watching his daughter with pride. Nessie patted my arm, demanding the return of my attention.

"Sorry, Ness," I said, turning my head so that I was facing her once more. She imprinted an image in my mind of a rain forest, one that Zafrina had shown her. She was clearly asking if that's where Garrett and I had been. Garrett and I nodded in unison. We weren't in that exact place, but a similar one. Nessie especially didn't need to know what Garrett and I had done with our time.

But of course, Nessie was nothing if not inquisitive. She asked us what we'd done, and Garrett and I glanced at each other quickly. I was the one who answered.

"Well… we went hunting in the ocean," I said. It wasn't a lie, but definitely not something we'd done daily. "You wouldn't believe how good some of that blood tastes in oceanic animals. Sharks were especially delicious."

Nessie nodded, then turned towards Bella. She hurried over, and Nessie asked her a silent question. "I don't know, Ness, maybe Daddy and I could take you out to the ocean to try for your birthday," Bella replied, looking over at Edward. "It would depend on how strong of a swimmer you could be, and how long you could hold your breath. We'll see, alright?" Nessie huffed, but knew that it was no good arguing.

"Come on inside!" Alice said, suddenly appearing at my side. She started tugging on my elbow impatiently, heading for the front door. "Your present's in here. And don't give me that look Kate," she said sharply, for I'd just gotten a slightly skeptical expression on my face. "You're going to love it. You've been smart all the time I've known you. Don't start doubting me now." I rolled my eyes, gave a short laugh, but conceded. We'd all learned to never bet against Alice.

Alice led Garrett and I into the living room, where Edward's piano had been painted back to rich mahogany brown instead of the dark gold. Again, I wondered how Alice had ever managed to convince Edward to give in to that one.

On one of the couches, there was a small book, and a couple leftover craft supplies were on the table. I cocked my head in confusion; had Alice and Rosalie finally finished Nessie's "baby book"? But when we reached the couch, the pictures on the front weren't of Nessie at all.

The book was a photo album, like I'd originally figured out. But instead of Nessie, I was greeted with something entirely different. Two still shots that Alice had taken of Garrett and I from the wedding were on the right side of the cover, mine right in front, Garrett's photo-shopped to be right behind mine. Spanning across the left side and the middle was a photo of the two of us walking to the backyard, or rather, Garrett walking to that destination with me in his arms. Above that picture, the words "Kate & Garrett" were written in fancy cursive.

In awe, I opened the book to the first page, where I was greeted with a picture of me laughing in Alice's bathroom, Tanya in the back, curling my hair, and Bella closing the window. I remembered that moment perfectly. Alice, freaking out about Garrett trying to see me before the wedding, ordering Bella to close the blinds. I finally remembered that clicking sound I'd heard, registering it now as the camera Alice had obviously had. There were only two pictures on that front page, the aforementioned one, and one of Tanya and I in the closet, arms around each other as we remembered Irina.

The next page was decorated with a picture of me with Jonathan. I was holding him upright slightly above my head, talking to him about something, with the biggest smile on my face. I couldn't stop smiling whenever I was with Jonathan. There was one that I remembered taking, after I'd been completely redone, looking at Alice wearily, not believing that she was actually making me take a picture. The other two that I could see was one of me and Tanya, smiling at the camera like utter fools, and a more traditional one of me and Carmen. The next page was four of Tanya, Carmen, and I, a couple serious ones, and then, at Tanya's insistence, ones where we were just making the most ridiculous faces.

The next pictures in the book were what seemed like thousands Alice had taken of the actual ceremony. Me walking down the aisle with Carlisle, Carlisle putting my hand into Garrett's, both us dying from laughter at the jokes Emmett was making, us looking starry-eyed at each other, the one Alice had sent us while honeymooning of us kissing, and quite a few of me being carried to the reception by Garrett.

And if I'd thought there was a lot of the actual ceremony, the ones from the reception easily tripled that number. There were so many alone of us just dancing that I didn't bother to count them. One of my favorites showed us dancing for the first time, and we both had the biggest smiles on our faces.

There were also the staged ones Alice had insisted upon. Nessie showed me her favorite, which was one of her and me, with me kneeling behind her, hugging her from that position. Various other ones were strewn in, of every single aspect of the wedding. Finally, at the back of the book, came what had to be my all-time favorite.

I remembered taking it. Alice had dragged one of the couches outside, and had had Garrett and I lay down on it. He had been behind me, his arm draped over my waist. One of my hands was on his face, and me head was pointed towards his, eyes closed, lips just about to touch. It was erotic and innocent at the same time.

"Oh my God, I love it," I said, looking up into the smug faces of Tanya, Alice, Carmen, Esme, and Rosalie. I knew immediately that they had all been busy putting this together.

"I was the one who told Alice to take that picture in the back," Tanya sang out, knowing from my face that that particular picture had been my favorite. I rolled my eyes at her in pure exasperation that she knew me so well. Only Tanya would be able to ever read me that easily.

We left the Cullen's the next day. I was eager to get back to Denali, my beloved home. And of course, Tanya's eager smile told me that whatever surprise she had in store would be waiting for Garrett and I up at the house.

My family caught us up on most everything we missed while gone. Caius had sent people after the family three separate times, but Tanya, Eleazar, and Carmen were able to dispose of them easily. I showed them my new scar, which I hadn't even thought of until today. It was honestly like it just didn't exist, the impact it had had on my life. We all agreed to be on our alert in case Caius sent out individuals who were trained to be as immune as one could be to my shock. I wasn't worried about the Volturi, however. Tanya and I were so agnostic towards them that our hatred would enable us to take out any member they sent after us.

Carmen had grown even more ecstatic for her baby by the day. She'd already made Eleazar go shopping with her for things that they'd need once it arrived. She was having entirely too much fun planning out all the clothes she'd put the baby in. She was also adamant that it would be a girl, though she and Eleazar couldn't agree on a name. They'd decided on Adrian if the baby turned out to be a boy. For girls, they were stuck between Aldonza and Natalia.

"Go for Aldonza," Tanya prompted. She was back to driving her Mercedes now that she wasn't interrogating Garrett and I about the details of our honeymoon. "Aldonza's got some spunk. Natalia's too sweet."

"Carmen and Eleazar are the sweetest people that we know," I countered. "No doubt any child of theirs is going to be the nicest little thing ever. And besides, wasn't Aldonza the name of the whore in _Man of La Mancha_?" I was referring to one of Carmen's favorite plays, surprised that she hadn't thought of the connection before.

"Of course, that's where I got the name from," Carmen replied from up front. "I know it doesn't exactly have the best connotation, but I love the name. Trust me, I toyed around with the name Dulcinea as well." We all laughed at that; Carmen was truly adamant on names from that play. Still, I thought Natalia would fit the girl better.

"Well, we have plenty of time to decide," Eleazar said logically. Surprisingly, his words made Carmen groan.

"Don't remind me," she grumbled. "I want the baby out now. Carlisle says that I'm only in my third month. I have to wait another six to see the baby."

"You sound like Esme," Tanya said, laughing. "Do you remember how much she lamented that she'd have to wait an entire nine months to see her babies? She was especially anxious for Edward. Still, afterwards, she said that she wouldn't have traded the experience of being pregnant for anything."

"Oh, the day she gave birth to both Edward and Emmett, she was entirely of two minds," I recalled, laughing as well. "She kept saying that she wanted to keep both of them in her womb, but couldn't wait to see them. Rose was the same way."

"Speaking of that, are you bringing me back a niece or nephew?" Tanya demanded, turning around to glare and me and Garrett. I stared as her incredulously.

"How am I supposed to know?" I asked her. "I would say probably not. You know how long it takes our kind to conceive."

"Well, it's not like it's an impossibility," Garrett said, grinning down devilishly at me. I rolled my eyes up at him while Tanya laughed even harder. She was still chortling a couple moments later when she pulled in to the familiar drive. I got out of the car quickly, curious to see what Tanya was so excited about. To my disappointment, I couldn't smell any new fragrances.

"Oh, you won't be able to smell it from here," Tanya said, easily reading my mind like always. "Carmen and I made sure of that. Esme, Alice, and Rosalie had a hand in your present as well, but it was mostly me and Carmen. Follow me."

She sped off into the trees, and I followed at top speed, curiosity spiking to its peak now. Tanya didn't lead me far before I finally saw it.

It was almost a replica of our house, though much smaller. But the elements I loved most about our house where there, such as it being built with sturdy wood and wide, spacious windows. "We knew that you'd want your own house for a little while. Of course, you're not allowed to live here full time. We fully expect you to be at the main house of the better part of the day," Tanya said. Garrett and I glanced at each other, and then we enveloped her in our arms at exactly the same time.

"You're the best little sister ever!" Garrett exclaimed, purposely being overenthusiastic.

"I'm older than both of you!" Tanya said defensively, her tone making me laugh.

"Yes, but you're much shorter and I am. Therefore, I reserve the right to call you my little sister," Garrett said, in an attempt to be logical. Tanya and I rolled our eyes at him simultaneously.

"Go. Garrett's currently annoying me even more than he usually does. My guess is that he needs a good, strong dose of Kate right now," Tanya said, and I looked at her with my eyebrows raised, sending her a clear message. "And yes Kate, I really did just say that. No, I have not been around Emmett too much, I just needed to get back at Garrett. Have fun." And with that, she sped back in the direction of the house.

"She was wrong," Garrett said. "I definitely don't need Kate right now. I'm craving Katie instead. Think you could give me a supply?"

"You're so cheesy," I said, right before I kissed him. He grabbed my legs and pulled them tightly around his waist.

"I'm thinking that we should test whether or not Carmen and Tanya were able to make this place stronger than the cottage," Garrett murmured, walking towards the new house.

"We should try not to break it," I said against his lips. "The last few times at Esme's place we were good. I don't want to make Carmen and Tanya have to revamp another house. Tanya will get annoyed before too long."

"I'm not making any promises about that," Garrett said, and with that, it was like I was back at are honeymoon. Happiness came in Garrett, and happiness was everywhere.


	16. Chapter 16

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed. That couldn't be possible. It had only been two years since Garrett and I had been sexually active. I couldn't be…

"Kate, I've never been wrong about this before. Trust me, you're pregnant," Carlisle said, standing up. He'd been kneeling at my stomach, checking to see if I actually had a baby growing inside of me. "Don't worry, it's not like you've broken the record for the shortest amount of time taken to conceive. You remember Siobhan and Liam? They had only known each other for a year before their daughter Maggie was conceived. When I was living with the Volturi, I learned that Aro and his late sister Didyme were both born within three years of their parents meeting each other. And yes, they were both vampire children."

I looked down at my stomach, still not daring to believe it. Garrett pushed everyone out of the way to stand in front me, kneeling by my stomach the same way Carlisle had. He pressed an ear at my bellybutton. His now golden eyes that completely matched mine got wide as he apparently experienced the same sound that Carlisle had.

"He's not lying Katie," Garrett said as he slowly stood up. "There's a baby in there. I can hear its heartbeat; it was just like Carmen's." He kissed me then, long and slow.

"Do you have to be gross?" Nessie asked from behind us. At three years old, she now resembled a thirteen year old, and she was definitely taking some time to act like a teenager. Her bronze curls hung down to the middle of her back, and her hand was on her hip.

"Yes, yes we do," I told her, kissing Garrett hard with a loud smack, just to tease her. She rolled her eyes and went to stand next to Jacob. Now that she was growing older, and attracting the stares of many boys her age, Jacob rarely left her side. Nessie often referred to him as her older brother who scared the boys away.

The Cullen's were living in New Hampshire now, the need to leave Forks due to Nessie's unprecedented growth rate. Charlie had been getting extremely suspicious, poking his nose into the situation, not knowing how dangerous it was for him. Eventually, Edward had convinced Bella that leaving was the only option. The wolves Jacob, Leah, and Seth had gone with them.

Because we'd grown so much closer to our cousins after the Volturi confrontation, we felt the need to visit each other at least once a year. The Cullen's were up in Alaska, where Carlisle had announced my pregnancy.

Tanya came over to take her turn listening to my stomach, then Carmen, and the rest of the family soon followed, save for Jonathan and Natalia. They were playing in the corner twisted pieces of scrap metal we'd managed to come up with.

When everyone, even Nessie, had taken their turn, I stumbled back to the couch, still in a state of shock. I still couldn't believe that Garrett and I were having a baby after only two years. I couldn't comprehend that at this moment, I was carrying Garrett's _baby_.

It's not like we didn't want one. Every time I'd seen Carmen with Natalia, calling her _niña, _my entire being craved for what she had. In other words, I'd been experiencing intense jealousy for a year and a half now. I already knew that I'd love whoever was growing in my stomach just as much as I loved Garrett.

"I wish there was some way for her to hear the heartbeat," Tanya said. "She still doesn't totally believe us, you know. Carlisle, did you happen to bring a stethoscope by any chance?" Carlisle shook his head, but Carmen's eyes got wide, and she ran upstairs to her room.

After years and years of careful practice, Carmen was finally secure enough with her vegetarianism so that she too could work in a hospital. While not a doctor like Carlisle, she instead acted as a nurse, mostly assisting in childbirth. She'd previously received a degree in medicine, and after she'd helped a man she'd found on the road who was dying from blood loss, she could finally realize her dream. All of us had been ecstatic for her, celebrating for a couple days.

Carmen raced back downstairs, carrying a stethoscope. "I don't have much with me, but we're all issued basic supplies," she said, carrying the device over to me. She stuck it in my ears. "Tell me when you can hear something," she instructed me, moving it over my stomach to the area she desired.

A faint fluttering noise entered my ears, and I held a hand up for Carmen to keep the stethoscope where it was. I listened to the fluttering intently, connecting it with the memories I had of all of us crowding together to listen to Natalia's heartbeat while she was still in Carmen's womb. The sounds were almost identical. It was true.

"Oh my God," I whispered as Carmen removed the stethoscope, quickly carrying it back upstairs. I placed one hand over the spot where the heartbeat was, in a state of complete shock. I looked up at everyone gathered. "This is really happening, isn't it?" The question lingered for a moment before Tanya, Garrett, and I burst out in identical fits of insane laughter.

"Did we miss something?" Emmett asked, utterly baffled. We ignored him, and Garrett picked me up in a big bear hug.

"Don't squish me Garrett!" I said, still laughing. "I'm just a little more delicate at the moment, and I seriously don't want to shock you right now." As I said the words, a horrible thought dawned on me. My shock. "Oh my God, put me DOWN!" I screamed, all frivolity gone. Garrett immediately recognized this and set me back down on the couch, kneeling in front of me and keeping one of my hands in his.

"Katie, what's wrong?" he asked, concern lacing his tone. Tanya went to my other side, confusion set upon her features.

"My shock," I muttered. "You know how much pain Esme, Rosalie, and Carmen were in when they gave birth. And you all know that whenever I'm in pain, mentally at least, I naturally end up turning the shock on over my entire body. It'll be the same during delivery. The baby can't feel that, not when it's coming out. That might even be strong enough to kill it." I'd killed grown men that way, before I'd become vegetarian. The baby might possess vampiric qualities, but it still wouldn't fully be a vampire. And besides, it was a _baby_.

My words were a tangible presence over the room as the outcome sunk in. Not even Emmett was smiling anymore. Garrett's face turned fearful, an expression that I was sure mirrored my own as we realized what could very well be the fate for our unborn child.

Suddenly, Tanya sat up, pointing at Bella. "Bella's shield!" she exclaimed. "Bella, do you think you could expand you shield to cover the baby, but not Kate? That would be the only way to make sure everyone would be safe."

Bella looked doubtful, but I could see a sprinkling of hope that we could cling to. "I might be able to. Edward could hear Nessie before she was born. If I concentrate hard enough, and if I practice enough, I might be able to cover the baby, as well as Carlisle and Carmen and whoever else is working on it. It would take practice though."

"That's fine. You have months to practice," Tanya said. "You can do it. You were able to keep your shield around Garrett while taking it off of Kate at the Volturi confrontation, right? You'll be able to do this too. We just have to keep faith."

* * *

"OW!" I yelled, gripping on to Garrett's hand even more firmly. I was trying to hold in my shock for as long as I could until Bella got a direct line to the baby. She said she was almost positive she could protect it. For months we'd been drilling her shield, pushing her to maximum potential. Now, she could expand her shield so it was more than a bubble shape, but in any shape that she wanted. Just yesterday, she'd been able to shield Nessie, Rose, Carlisle, and Eleazar, who had all been standing in different corners of the room, without hitting anyone else. Edward had praised her for hours, but I was just relieved. Maybe now, my baby could be safe.

The Cullen's had decided to stay with us for the last week of my pregnancy up in Denali. I had been on bed rest for the last month, drinking the donated blood that Carmen had been able to bring from the hospital. As a result, my eyes had dulled a bit from the brilliant gold they'd been for the past few hundred years, but they'd go back easily enough.

My labor had begun this morning, and had dragged on all day. Esme and Rosalie had been enormous helps, keeping me informed about what was going on through the experience while Carlisle and Carmen worked on the actual delivery process and feeding me blood at regular intervals. Jasper's presence, too, was beneficial, keeping me as sane as I could possibly be. Bella was pressing her fingers to her temples in concentration, preparing for the task she was about to do. And Garrett never let go of my hand the entire time, no matter what. Tanya too, stayed by my side.

"Alright, Kate, in a moment you're going to have to start pushing," Carlisle said in a calming voice. "Just as soon as Bella gives the all clear, we're going to start this thing and finish it as soon as possible." I just nodded, squeezing Garrett's and Tanya's hands.

Bella walked closer for a moment until she was right beside Carlisle. Her eyes were closed, and I could tell that Carlisle, Carmen, Garrett, and Tanya were under her shield easily enough. A few moments later, and she nodded her head. "Baby's under," she said. "Kate's not. Hurry this up, Carlisle, I won't be able to keep this up for long."

Carlisle nodded, and told me to start pushing. The pain was almost too much to bear, and I couldn't help but exert as much shock as I could produce. After holding it all in ever since learning I was pregnant, I seemed to have a stronger force than usual, and each time Carlisle had me pushed elicited another shock from me. Each time, I could tell that it was easier for Bella to keep her shield up. Finally, Carlisle pulled away with a small screaming bundle, which he immediately handed off to Carmen, and she took it away to be cleaned up.

"You did it Katie!" Garrett exclaimed from beside me, kissing my forehead. I smiled back up at him, excitement like nothing I'd ever experienced washing over me. I needed for Carmen to hurry up and bring me my baby. I had to know if it was Lena or Levi…

Those were the names Garrett and I had decided on, for a girl or boy respectively. He had asked, if the baby was a boy, to name it Levi, after the brother he'd lost so long ago, and I hadn't minded at all. He asked me if it was a girl, if I'd want to name it after Irina, but I'd easily answered that question with a strong no. Somehow, I felt like that would be trying to replace my sister, and that was never going to happen. I could never look at my daughter as Irina. So we'd decided on Lena, a name that I'd always loved.

Carmen walked over the next second later, a wide smile playing on her features. I dropped Tanya's and Garrett's hands immediately, holding my arms out for my baby. Carmen placed the squirming bundle into my arms, and I brought it down by my chest.

Lena. She was Lena. Garrett and I had created our little Lena. She had Garrett's dark, dark hair on the top of her head, but her eyes were unmistakably a light, lily-pad green, the exact same shade mine had been before I'd been changed. She was still uttering a light wail, but when Rose handed me a bottle filled with blood and she began feeding, that wail stopped the second the moment the first drop of blood fell past her lips. Her flawless porcelain skin was marred only by the almost unnoticeable crescent along her forehead, identical to the ones Jonathan and Natalia still had.

Lena fed quickly, and then her mouth stretched into a little yawn and her eyes closed for a couple minutes at a time before she'd wrench them open again. I registered in my ears the familiar click of Alice's camera, but I was utterly fascinated and captivated by my daughter. Still, I knew I had to share my daughter, at least with Garrett. I turned toward him, unable to keep myself from smiling.

He took Lena gingerly, much like how Emmett had first held Jonathan or Eleazar had first held Natalia. There was a tenderness that was the same in all of them, like they weren't used to seeing anything that tiny and were unsure how to handle them without breaking them.

"It's just a baby, Garrett, you aren't going to break her," Tanya said, easily mimicking my thoughts, rolling her eyes and laughing. Garrett paid her no mind, as captivated as I was at our daughter's face. Alice made him get down on his knees so she could take a picture of the three of us, and he did so, still unspeaking. Alice clicked her camera a few more times, and then Tanya took Lena from Garrett, announcing her turn to hold her niece. Only then did Garrett turn to me.

"She's perfect," he breathed before kissing me. I kissed him back with equal fervor, relishing in the miracle we'd been able to create. Lena solidified our family, making us feel even more complete. If only Irina were here…. But Irina would never get a chance to meet her niece, just like so many other things she was cheated out of. Garrett immediately noticed my thoughts turning towards my sister. After two years of comforting me, he knew even the smallest signs that betrayed my thoughts. He stopped kissing me so he could whisper quick words into my ear.

"You know she'd have wanted this for you," he breathed so quietly I was unsure whether anyone else could hear it, even with their advanced senses. "Honor her. You know that we've wanted Lena for years. Irina loves her too, wherever she is."

His words did the trick, as they always did. I turned my head so that I could kiss him quickly one last time as Lena was passed around the room, finally having fallen under the temptation of sleep. I was so mentally drained that I wished that I could join her, just for a couple hours, if it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't bear to take my eyes off her. She was my life now, even more so than Garrett. She completed us.

And even though I remembered fighting against him, thinking that the kind of love Garrett and I had would only equate to weakness, I was never happier to have been utterly wrong. Sometimes, what love leads to is pain. Irina proved that. Her love for Laurent led to her death. But I understood her blind devotion, her psychotic reactions to his death. And wherever she was now, perhaps she was with Laurent. For this first time, I asked myself if her death was actually beneficial for Irina. Was it possible that now, she was with her mate again? Did she even have a desire to live without Laurent?

Before, I would have scoffed at the idea. Why would Irina need Laurent in her life? She'd barely even known him. But I remembered Alice's vision, of the outcome if the Volturi would have attacked. I'd have thrown myself into the fire that was consuming Garrett, killing myself as well. At that time, I'd only known him for mere weeks. Love truly was the most powerful force in this world.

And when Lena was placed back in my arms again, when Garrett leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead, I felt as though my heart had swelled again. My daughter, my husband, and me. Together, we were invincible.

**EPILOUGE: 100 YEARS LATER**

"Mom! Dad!" I heard a voice call out. Garrett and I were at the airport, craning our necks to search for our daughters. We'd taken a much needed vacation to Indonesia for a couple months, satisfying Garrett's wanderlust. And still, after a hundred years, our passion hadn't dimmed in any way.

I turned towards the voice of Lena, who'd always been the more outgoing of my daughters. She was Garrett born again. Anastasia is quieter and more reserved, like I am. As always, Garrett was able to find who we were looking for first, being so much taller than I was. He quickly spotted the two girls, as well as the rest of our family, and led me over to them.

After 15 years, we were all returning to Denali. We'd been forced to relocate due to suspecting humans for a time, but we always came back. Tanya had been insisting on a change of scenery, so we all packed up and moved out to Massachusetts, where Garrett had been born. But we'd been homesick for our lovely wooden house in the snowy forest, the white mountains in the distance. Tanya had called me to inform Garrett and I of the unanimous decision to go back, and we'd both agreed wholeheartedly. As a result, we had flown in to Anchorage, where the rest of the family was waiting.

Standing on my tiptoes, I finally made out the forms of my family through the dense crowd of people. Anastasia was easily the tallest, standing at six foot one, almost as tall as Garrett, after 21 years of growth. Lena, of course, was fifteen years older, but they looked to be the same age, seeing as Garrett and I had changed them after the same number of years.

Anastasia saw Garrett and I almost at the same time we saw her, and turned to tell the rest of the family, her long blonde hair whipping around as she turned. Tanya pushed her way towards us, her mate Keith trailing behind her. I'd been so happy when Tanya had finally found a mate and husband in Keith. He was a wonderful person, and fit in easily with the rest of our family. And better still, he loved my sister with all his heart, which is all I could have ever asked for.

Tanya quickly came up to us, and enveloped me in a hug. She was bouncing up and down on her toes, a clear sign that she had big news to tell us. I quickly went through the possibilities in my head, and selected the one I was almost positive would be the outcome.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" I asked her, eyes lighting up. Tanya gave me a frustrated look at the fact that she hadn't been able to get the words out, but couldn't be angry for long. She just seemed to be infused with more bubbliness than usual.

"Yes! We're so excited!" she gushed, taking Keith's hand. Lena, Anastasia, Carmen, Eleazar, Natalia, and Adrian (Natalia's brother), came up just a second after Tanya's words, and hugs were exchanged everywhere. "Anyway, Alice called a little while ago, and the Cullen's just want to hope that you had a good trip," Tanya informed Garrett and I. Currently, the Cullen's were living in New York, so they weren't coming today. Still, we saw them frequently and still enjoyed their company after so many years.

"I can't wait to get back to the house," Tanya trilled, leading the way to the car. She and Keith took the front as usual, and then Carmen and Eleazar the next section, then Natalia and Adrian, and Lena and Anastasia. Garrett and I sat in the back, as was our preference.

"I can't wait to go home," I sighed, settling my head on his chest. "As much as I love travelling, I miss my snow."

"Maybe next time we can go to Russia," Garrett teased. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Or maybe England," I responded, causing Garrett to wrinkle his nose in distaste. I had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing. 350 years of life, and he still hated England with a passion that I'd never seen before.

"Oh, and by the way Katie," Garrett leaned his lips down close to my ear. "Happy anniversary."

I swelled with satisfaction at his words. 100 years to the day, Garrett and I had been married. We'd been able to have two beautiful daughters in that time, and never, not once, had I ever wished that I'd never met Garrett. No, just the opposite, I couldn't imagine what I would've done if he hadn't come into my life. I still loved him just as much 100 years ago as I do now.

And so I kissed him, marked 100 years of friendship, joy, but most of all, love. Always love.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it. The longest, and best, thing I have ever written. Kudos if you read the whole thing. It was ridiculously long... I know. But hey, you're lucky you got this today at all. Literally, seconds after I separated this thing into chapters, I got news that my grandfather died. You honestly don't know how lucky you are... Anyway, this marks the first in my series of Twilight fanfics. I'm writing another one on Kate and Garrett right now, which will be very AU. But I'm also open to taking requests on certain things, just as long as they're not like "Do Carlisle's POV of Twilight". I will mostly work with AU. The only reason this was semi-canon was because Kate and Garrett gave me so much room to explore. But anyway, back on topic, I'll take reviews for most any AU scenario you can cook up for me, with your preferred pairing. I refuse to write Edward/Bella, but if enough people want me to do it, you might be able to persuade me to do a Bella/Jacob. Anything other than that, just PM me. Hope that you liked this, and please review!**

**~Mock**


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